Question

A force of $ 60N $ acts on a body having an area of cross-section $ 5c{m^2} $. Calculate the pressure exerted by the body.

Answer 1

Hint
The pressure of that is exerted by the body is defined as the force per unit area. So in the question we are provided with the force and the area of cross-section. Hence by substituting the values of the force and the area of cross-section, we can get the pressure.
Formula Used: In this solution we will be using the following formula,
 $ P = \dfrac{F}{A} $
where $ P $ is the pressure exerted by a body,
 $ F $ is the force and $ A $ is the area of cross-section.

Complete step by step answer
 The pressure that is exerted by a body is the force that is exerted on the body per unit area. The force applied is perpendicular the surface of the body so the pressure can be given by the formula,
 $ P = \dfrac{F}{A} $
In the question we are given that the force is $ F = 60N $ and the area of cross-section is given as $ A = 5c{m^2} $. Now the area of cross-section is given in the cgs unit. So we can write in SI unit as $ A = \dfrac{5}{{{{10}^4}}}{m^2} $
Therefore, on substituting we get the pressure as,
 $ \Rightarrow P = \dfrac{{60}}{{\dfrac{5}{{{{10}^4}}}}} $
Therefore we can simplify this as,
 $ \Rightarrow P = \dfrac{{60}}{5} \times {10^4} $
So on calculating we get,
 $ \Rightarrow P = 12 \times {10^4} $
So the pressure exerted by the body is $ 12 \times {10^4} $ Pascal.

Note
There are different kinds of pressure. For example, the absolute pressure, the atmospheric pressure, differential pressure and gauge pressure. The SI unit of pressure is called Pascal and is denoted by Pa. The cgs unit of force is called Barye. It is given by dyne per square centimetre. It is given as Newton per square meter. The pressure is a scalar unit.