CLASS-8
CHAPTER-8 FORCE AND PRESSURE
PRESSURE EXERTED BY LIQUIDS
Liquids exert pressure in all directions on the walls of the container they are
stored in. We see water coming out from leaking pipes and taps. In case of a
bath shower and fountain, water comes out tiny holes.
All the liquids exert pressure on the base or bottom and walls of their
container.All the liquids have some weight. When we pour liquid into a
vessel, then the weight of liquid pushes down on the base of the vessel
producing a pressure.
The liquid exerts pressure on the base of the vessel.
The pressure exerted by a liquid changes with depth in the liquid. The
pressure exerted by a liquid increases with increasing depth inside the liquid.
Liquids also exert pressure on the walls of the vessel in which they are
stored.
Activity : Liquid exert pressure on the bottom of its
container which depends on the height of its column
Take a transparent plastic pipe.Also take a thin sheet of a rubber. Stretch the
thin rubber sheet and tie it tightly over one end of the plastic pipe.The plastic
pipe is the container which has stretchable bottom made of a thin rubber
sheet. keeping the pipe vertical ,let us pour some water in the pipe from the
top .We will find that on pouring water in the pipe ,the rubber sheets tied to
its bottom stretches and bulges out.The bulging out of rubber sheet
demonstrates that the water poured in pipe exerts a pressure on the bottom
of its container. This is because the bottom of container is made of a flexible,
thin rubber sheet which can get stretched by the pressure exerted by water
to form a bulge. Now pour some water in the plastic pipe so that height of
water column in the pipe increases. As the height of water column increases
the bulge in the rubber sheet also increases showing that the pressure of
water on the bottom of its container has increased. Greater the height of
water column in the pipe greater will be the bulge in its rubber sheet bottom.
We conclude that:
1)A liquid exerts pressure on the bottom of its container.
2)The pressure exerted by a liquid depends on the height of the liquid
column.
Activity: A liquid exerts pressure on the walls of its container
Take a plastic bottle.Fix a small glass tube above the bottom of the plastic
bottle. We should seal the joint of glass tube with plastic bottle by using
molten wax so that water does not leak from the joint. Tie a thin sheet of
rubber tightly on the open end of glass tube. Now fill half of plastic bottle
with water.On filling water, the rubber sheet tied to the mouth of glass tube
gets stretched and bulges out. The bulging out of rubber sheet tied to the
glass tube fixed in the wall of plastic bottle demonstrates that water present
in plastic bottle exerts pressure on the walls of the bottle. It is the sideways
pressure exerted by water which inflates the thin rubber sheet forming a
buldge. If we pour more water in the plastic bottle to increase depth, we will
see that the bulge in the rubber sheet increases.This indicates that the
pressure exerted by water increases with increasing depth.
1)The pressure exerted by a liquid on the walls of container increases with
increasing depth.
2)A liquid exerts pressure on the walls of its container.
Activity :A liquid exerts equal pressure at the same depth
Take a plastic bottle.Make 2 small holes of equal size on the two opposite
sides of the plastic bottle some distance above the bottom of the bottle. The
holes should be at exactly the same height from the bottom of the plastic
bottle.Now fill the bottle with water.The two jets of water coming out of the
two holes fall at the same distance away from the base on its either side.The
two jets of water can fall at equal distance on the two sides of the bottle only
if the pressure of water at the depth of 2 holes in the bottle is equal.
We conclude that
1)A liquid exerts pressure on the walls of its container.
2)A liquid exerts equal pressure at the same depth.
The formation of fountains of water from the leaking pipes of water supply
pipeline tells us that water exerts pressure on the walls of its container.
PRESSURE EXERTED BY GASES
Gases (Air) also exert pressure in all directions. When you make a hole on a
fully inflated balloon, then does the balloon not break, thereby releasing all
the air from inside.
ATMOSPHERIC PTRESSURE
Atmospheric pressure is the air pressure which is exerted by the weight of air
present in the atmosphere.
Atmospheric pressure is due to the weight of air present in the atmosphere
above us.Atmospheric pressure also acts in all directions. On the surface of
earth, the atmospheric pressure is maximum at the sea level. This is because
the column of air above us is tallest at the sea level .The atmospheric
pressure on the surface of earth is 101.3 kilo Pascal.
The atmospheric pressure is maximum on the surface of the earth.When we
go to high altitude then the atmospheric pressure decreases.At high altitude
the atmospheric pressure becomes much less than our blood pressure.Since
our blood is at higher pressure then outside pressure, therefore, some of the
blood vessels in our body burst and nose bleeding take place at high
altitude .Thus nose bleeding usually occurs in those people who trek to high
mountains.
MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure
atmospheric pressure. A simple barometer consists of a long glass tube
(closed at one end, open at the other) filled with mercury and turned upside
down into a container of mercury. The barometer works by balancing the
mercury in the glass tube against the outside air pressure, just like a set of
scales. As air pressure increases—that is, as the air becomes heavier—it
pushes more of the mercury up into the tube. As air pressure decreases,
more of the mercury drains from the tube. So the level of mercury in the
tube provides a precise measure of air pressure. The SI unit of pressure is
N/m or Pascal.
1 Atmospheric pressure is equal to 760mm of mercury.
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