Pressure , Key Concepts:

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Pressure; Forces in Fluids

What does pressure depend on ?

How do fluids exert pressure?

How does fluid pressure change with elevation and depth?

The word pressure is related to the word press and refers to a force
pushing on a surface. Force and pressure are related, but they are not the
same. Pressure is equal to the force exerted on a surface divided by the
total area over which the force is exerted. The amount of pressure you
exert depends on the area over which you exert the force.
Pressure

Answer the following questions in the spaces provided

1. What causes pressure in fluids?

2. What is the mathematical relationship between force,
pressure and area?
3. How does air pressure relate to elevation?

Force = ------------Area

The SI unit of pressure is called the pascal (Pa). One newton of force on

4. How does water pressure relate to depth?

one square meter is one pascal of pressure (1 N/m = 1 Pa).

A fluid is a material that can easily flow. Fluids can change shape.
Liquids and gases are both fluids.
Fluids exert pressure against the surfaces they touch. Fluids are made
up of tiny particles called molecules. In fluids, molecules are constantly
moving in all directions. As each molecule collides with a surface, it exerts
a force on the surface. In a fluid, all of the forces exerted by the
individual particles combine to make up the pressure exerted by the
fluid. Fluid pressure is the force exerted by the fluid divided by the area
over which the force is exerted.
The air in Earths atmosphere is also a fluid. The pressure exerted by
this gas is called air pressure or atmospheric pressure. Air exerts pressure
because it has mass. Because the force of gravity pulls down on the mass
of air, the air has weight. The weight of air produces atmospheric
pressure.
In a fluid that is not moving, pressure at any point is exerted equally in
all directions. Equal and opposite pressures balance each other. You are
not crushed by the weight of the atmosphere because pressure from fluids
inside your body balances the air pressure outside your body.
Atmospheric pressure decreases as your elevation increases. At
higher elevations, there is less air pushing down from above and therefore

5. List the location in the drawing below in order from least

pressure to greatest pressure.

Vocabulary
6. What is pressure?
7. What is a fluid?
8. What is the definition of one pascal of pressure?

less weight to support. The air pressure at higher elevations is less than
the air pressure at lower elevations. Air pressure can be measured with a
device called a barometer.
Water pressure increases as depth increases. At greater depths, there
is more water pushing down from above and therefore more weight to
support. The water pressure at greater depths is more than the water
pressure at lesser depths. The total pressure underwater is a sum of the
water pressure plus the air pressure above the water.