Question

A girl standing upright exerts a pressure of 15000 N/m2 on the floor. Given that the total area of contact of shoes and the floor is 0.02m2 Determine the pressure she would exert on the floor if she stood on one leg

Answer 1

Answer:

30,000N/m²

Explanation:

Given parameters:

Pressure on two legs = 15000N/m²

Total surface area of contact = 0.02m²

Surface area on one leg = $\frac{0.02}{2}$  = 0.01m²

Unknown:

Pressure exerted if she stood on one leg = ?

Solution:

Pressure is the force per unit area on a body.

      Pressure  = $\frac{force}{area}$

 The force she is exerting is due to the weight her both. Standing on both feet and on a single feet is based on the same source of force;

         Force  = pressure x area

         Force = 15000 x 0.02  = 300N

So;

  Pressure from one leg = $\frac{300}{0.01}$   = 30,000N/m²