Question 1Multiple choice · 1 mark
A box of weight 540 N rests on an area of 0.5 m². What pressure does it exert on the floor?
- A 0.000926 Pa
- B 10.8 Pa
- C 270 Pa
- D 1080 Pa
Show answer
Answer: D
Free Pressure questions for IGCSE Physics (0625), part of Motion, forces & energy. Each question has the answer and the marking points an examiner would look for.
Generate a full Pressure worksheet →All Motion, forces & energy questionsA box of weight 540 N rests on an area of 0.5 m². What pressure does it exert on the floor?
Answer: D
A hydraulic jack has a small piston of area 2.0 cm² and a large piston of area 50 cm². A force of 80 N is applied to the small piston.
Calculate the pressure in the liquid.
Calculate the force on the large piston.
Explain why a liquid, rather than a gas, is used in the jack.
| Part | Answer and marking points | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | 40 N/cm² p = 80 ÷ 2.0 C1 40 N/cm² A1 | 2 |
| (b) | 2000 N F = p × A = 40 × 50 C1 2000 N A1 | 2 |
| (c) | liquids are incompressible liquids cannot be compressed, so the pressure is transmitted B1 | 1 |
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure.
Explain why atmospheric pressure decreases with height above the Earth.
A mercury barometer shows a column of mercury 0.76 m high. The density of mercury is 13 600 kg/m³. Calculate the atmospheric pressure.
| Part | Answer and marking points | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | less air above; less dense there is less air above pushing down B1 the air is less dense, so fewer collisions B1 | 2 |
| (b) | 1.0 × 10⁵ Pa p = ρgh = 13 600 × 9.8 × 0.76 C1 1.0 × 10⁵ Pa A1 | 2 |
A drawing pin has a sharp point and a wide head.
Explain why the pin goes into the wood easily.
Explain why the thumb is not hurt.
State the equation linking pressure, force and area.
| Part | Answer and marking points | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | small area, large pressure the point has a very small area B1 so the pressure on the wood is large B1 | 2 |
| (b) | large area, small pressure the head has a large area, so the pressure on the thumb is small B1 | 1 |
| (c) | p = F ÷ A pressure = force ÷ area B1 | 1 |
Sea water has a density of 1020 kg/m³. Atmospheric pressure at the surface is 1.0 × 10⁵ Pa.
Calculate the total pressure on a diver at a depth of 60 m.
Explain, in terms of particles, why the water exerts a pressure on the window.
The diver rises slowly. A bubble of air released at depth gets larger as it rises. Explain why.
| Part | Answer and marking points | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | 7.00 × 105 Pa Δp = ρgΔh = 1020 × 9.8 × 60 = 6.00 × 105 Pa C1 add atmospheric pressure C1 7.00 × 105 Pa A1 | 3 |
| (b) | particles collide with window; change of momentum gives force water particles collide with the window B1 each collision causes a change of momentum / exerts a force, and pressure is force per unit area B1 | 2 |
| (c) | pressure decreases as depth decreases; gas expands (pV constant) the pressure of the water decreases as the depth decreases B1 at constant temperature pV is constant, so the volume of the gas increases B1 | 2 |
A woman of weight 600 N stands on soft ground. She then puts on snowshoes.
Each of her shoes has an area of 0.015 m². Calculate the pressure she exerts when standing on both feet.
Explain why snowshoes stop her sinking into soft snow.
| Part | Answer and marking points | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | 20 000 Pa p = F ÷ A = 600 ÷ 0.030 C1 20 000 Pa A1 | 2 |
| (b) | larger area → smaller pressure the snowshoes have a larger area B1 so the pressure on the snow is smaller B1 | 2 |
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