Question

A packaging company purchases corrugated cardboard boxes in which to pack its goods. The boxes are not made up when they are delivered, but are flat,A bundle of these boxes measures 0.60 m x 0.50 m x 0.20 m and has a
weight of 72 N. Calculate the pressure exerted by the cardboard boxes

Answer 1

Pressure is force divided by area, P = F/A, so we don't actually care about the dimension of depths, the 0.20 m, in this problem at all. All we have to do to get the area of the boxes is multiple the length times the width, or A= Area = 0.60*0.50 = 0.30 m², then we can just take the 70 N of force and divide by that area to get pressure. So P = 70 N/0.30 m² = 233.33 Pa. Pascals (Pa) are the standard unit of pressure and are the same thing as N/m².