Thrust: Force exerted by an object perpendicular to the surface is called thrust.
As thrust is the force acting normally on a surface, unit of thrust is same as that of
force.
SI unit of thrust is Newton (N).
Pressure: Pressure is defined as thrust or force per unit area on a surface.
● Pressure = Thrust/Area
● SI unit of pressure is N/m2 (Nm-2) or Pascal (Pa).
● It is a scaler quantity.
Factors affecting Pressure:-
Pressure depends on two factors:
(i) Force applied on the surface.
(ii) Area of surface over which force acts.
Since, pressure is indirectly proportional to the surface area of the object, so,
pressure increases with a decrease in surface area and decreases with an increase
in surface area.
Applications of Pressure in daily life
● The base of high buildings is made wider to spread the weight of the whole building
over a large surface area due to which less pressure acts on the ground.
● School bags are provided with broad straps so that the weight of school bags fall
over a larger area of the shoulder and produce less pressure hence making it easy
to carry.
● The blades of knives are made sharp so that on applying force on it, a large pressure
is produced on the very small surface area, thus cutting the object easily.
Pressure in Fluids
● Anything that can flow is called Fluid. Example: liquid and gas.
● Molecules of a fluid move randomly and collide with walls of vessel. Thus fluids apply
pressure on walls.
● Fluids exert pressure in all directions.
● Every fluid exerts a pressure. If a fluid is enclosed in a container, then the fluid exerts
pressure on the base and walls of the container.
Pascal’s Law:
According to Pascal’s law, whenever an external pressure is applied on a fluid
contained in a vessel at one place, the pressure is transmitted undiminished in all
directions to every portion of the fluid and to the walls of the container.
Buoyancy & Buoyant Force
● Force applied by the fluid on a solid which is partially or fully submerged in liquid, is
called the buoyant force and this phenomenon is named as buoyancy.
● Buoyant force acts in upward direction and it depends on the density of the fluid.
Factors affecting the Buoyant Force
Magnitude of the buoyant force depends on two factors:
● Directly proportional to the volume of the object immersed in liquid.
● Directly proportional to the density of the liquid.
The buoyant force is independent of the nature of immersed object.
Why does an object sink or float over water?
When an object is immersed in water, it exerts pressure over water due to its weight.
At the same time water also exerts upward thrust, i.e., buoyant force over the object.
● If the force exerted by the object is greater than the buoyant force of water, the
object sinks in water.
● If the force exerted by the object is less than the buoyant force of water, the object
floats over water.
Density of Floating objects:-
● An object will float in a liquid if its density is less than that of the liquid.
● An object will also float in a liquid if its density is equal to that of the liquid.
● An object will sink in a liquid if its density is more than that of the liquid.
Principle of flotation:-
● An object will float in a liquid if the weight of object is equal to the weight of liquid
displaced by it.
Weight of object = Weight of liquid displaced by it
Archimedes’ Principle
● It states that when a body is immersed fully or partially in a fluid, it experiences an
upward force that is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by it.
Applications of Archimedes’ Principle:
● It is used in designing ships and submarines.
● It is used in determining relative density of substances.
● Hydrometers used to determine the density of liquids, work on this principle.
● Lactometers used to determine purity of milk, are also based on this principle.
It is because of this principle that ship made of iron and steel floats in water whereas
a small piece of iron like nail, sinks in it.
