Force and Pressure

1. Give two examples each of situations in which you push or pull to change the state of motion of objects.
a. When a batsman hits the ball with his bat, direction of motion and speed of the ball change.
b. When the batsman flicks the ball, its direction changes slightly and it goes in the slip area.

2. Give two examples of situations in which applied force causes a change in the shape of an object.
a. While kneading the shape of dough keeps on changing every time force is applied on it.
b. When the toothpaste tube is squeezed, its shape changes.

3. Fill in the blanks in the following statements:

a. To draw water from a well we have to pull at the rope.
b. A charged body attracts an uncharged body towards it.
c. To move a loaded trolley we have to push it.
d. The north pole of a magnet repels the north pole of another magnet.

4. An archer stretches her bow while taking aim at the target. She then releases the arrow, which begins to
move towards the target. Based on this information fill up the gaps in the following statements using the
following terms:
Muscular, contact, non-contact, gravity, friction, shape, attraction
a. To stretch the bow, the archer applies a force that causes a change in its shape.
b. The force applied by the archer to stretch the bow is an example of muscular force.
c. The type of force responsible for a change in the state of motion of the arrow is an example of a contact force.
d. While the arrow moves towards its target, the forces acting on it are due to gravity and that due to friction of air.

5. In the following situations identify the agent exerting the force and the object on which it
acts. State the effect of the force in each case.
Situation Agent Exerting Object on which Effect of Force
the Force the Force acts

a. Squeezing a piece of Fingers Lemon Lemon gets

lemon between (Muscles) squeezed and its
the fingers to extract its juice comes out.
juice.

b. Taking out paste from a Fingers Toothpaste Tube Tube gets

toothpaste (Muscles) squeezed and
tube. toothpaste
comes out
c. A load suspended from Load Spring The Spring gets
a spring while stretched
its other end is on a hook downward.
fixed to a wall.

d. An athlete making a Athlete’s feet Ground The Athlete

high jump to (Muscles) jumps up from
clear the bar at a certain the ground
height.
.
6. A blacksmith hammers a hot piece of iron while making a tool. How does the force due to hammering
affect the piece of iron?
The applied force changes the shape of the hot iron making it flatter. When the edge of the iron piece is hammered
it gets sharper or pointed.

7. An inflated balloon was pressed against a wall after it has been rubbed with a piece of synthetic cloth. It
was found that the balloon sticks to the wall. What force might be responsible for the attraction between the
balloon and the wall?
The balloon stuck to the wall due to Electrostatic force. Electrostatic force is the force that a charged body exerts
on another charged or uncharged body. The balloon got charged due to rubbing and exerted Electrostatic force on
the wall thereby sticking to it.

8. Name the forces acting on a plastic bucket containing water held above ground level in your hand.
Discuss why the forces acting on the bucket do not bring a change in its state of motion.
Two forces are acting on the bucket simultaneously. Gravitational force (of Earth) is pulling the bucket downward
where as Muscular force exerted by the person holding it is pulling the bucket upwards. As the two forces are
balanced, the bucket is held stationary and there is no change in its state of motion.

9. A rocket has been fired upwards to launch a satellite in its orbit. Name the two forces acting on the rocket
immediately after leaving the launching pad.
The two forces acting on the rocket are:
a. Gravitational force of Earth, which is pulling it downwards.
b. Up thrust force due to the hot gases escaping out from it.
The Up thrust offered by the burning fuel has to be more than Earth’s Gravitational force so that
the rocket can escape into outer space.

10. When we press the bulb of a dropper with its nozzle kept in water, air in the dropper is seen to escape in
the form of bubbles. Once we release the pressure on the bulb, water gets filled in the dropper. The rise of
water in the dropper is due to:
a. pressure of water b. gravity of the earth
c. shape of rubber bulb d. atmospheric pressure 

Extra Questions
11. What are the different effects a force can produce in a body?
A force can produce the following effects in a body:
a. it can move a body from rest.
b. it can change the speed of a moving body.
c. it can change the direction of motion of a moving body.
d. it can change the shape of a body.

12. Write a note on:

a. Contact Forces: Those forces that can be applied only when the body applying the force is in contact with
another body are called Contact Forces. For example:
i. Muscular Force - we are able to push open a door only when we hold on to it.
ii. Friction - This is a contact force that arises when a moving body is in contact with another body. Since its
direction is always opposite to the direction of motion of the body, it reduces the speed of the moving body. For
example, a rolling ball stops after some time due to friction between its surface and the ground on which it is
rolling.
b. Non - Contact Forces: Those forces that can be applied by a body on another body from a distance without
physically touching are called Non - Contact Forces.
i. Magnetic Force: A magnet can exert force on another magnet or a piece of iron from a distance without
touching it. This force is Magnetic force.
ii. Electrostatic Force: A charged body exerts a force on another charged or uncharged body from a distance. This
force is Electrostatic force. For example, a charged plastic scale attracts tiny bits of paper placed under it.
iii. Gravitational Force: The force with which Earth attracts ever other body towards itself is Gravitational force.
In fact, each body in the universe attracts every other body with the same force. Gravitational Force is always
attractive and never repulsive.

13. What do you understand by ‘change in state of motion’ of a body?

A change in state of motion of a body implies two things:
a. Change in its speed, which may increase or decrease.
b. Change in direction of motion of the body.
A force may change either the speed or direction of motion or both.

14. How does applied force affect the speed of a body?

A force may affect the speed of a body in two ways:
a. If the force is applied in direction of motion of the body, the speed of
body increases. For example, the speed of tyre increases every time the
child strikes it with the stick.
b. If the force is applied in the direction opposite to the direction of motion,
the speed of body decreases. For example, frictional force acting on a
moving body decreases its speed till the body finally stops.

15. What would be the Resultant Force on a body if two forces act on it in opposite directions?
Let the two forces acting on the body are F1 and F2. Now there are three possible cases:
Case 1: If the two forces are equal that is F1 = F2 then:
Resultant Force = F1 – F2 = 0N
Thus, as the resultant force is zero, the body will not move at all.
Case 2: If F1 > F2 then:
Resultant Force = F1 – F2
As F1 is greater than F2, Resultant Force will be in the direction of F1
and so the body will move in the direction of F1.
Case 3: If F1 < F2 then:
Resultant Force = F1 – F2
As F2 is greater than F1, Resultant Force will be in the direction of F2
and so the body will move in the direction of F2.

16. Find the Resultant force in the following cases:

a. Forces F1 = 50 N and F2 = 25 N acting on a body in the same direction:
Since the forces are acting in the same direction the Resultant Force would be the sum of the two forces.
Resultant Force = F1 + F2 = 50N + 25N = 75N
b. Forces F1 = 50 N and F2 = 30 N acting on a body in opposite directions:
Resultant Force = F1 – F2 = 50N − 30N = 20N
In this case the body will move in the direction of F1.

17. Fill in the blanks:

a. Forces applied on an object in the same direction add to each other.
b. If the two forces act in the opposite directions on an object, the net force acting on it is the difference between
the two forces.
c. The net force on an object is zero if the two forces acting on it in opposite directions are equal.
d. Gases and liquid exert pressure on the walls of the container in which they are kept.
e. A Force arises due to interaction between two objects or bodies.
f. Force has magnitude as well as direction.
18. Explain the term ‘Pressure’.
Force acting on a unit area of surface is called Pressure. Its Standard unit is N/m2. Thus,
Pressure = Force / Area
For example, if a force of 10 N is acting on an area of 2 square centimeter then the pressure
would be:
Pressure = 10N / 2cm2 = 5N/cm2

19. Why are shoulder bags provided with broad straps?

Shoulder bags are provided with broad straps so that area of contact of the strap with the shoulder increases. Thus,
the Pressure on the shoulder would decrease and it would be easier to carry the bag.

20. Why do porters place a round piece of cloth when they carry heavy loads?
The cloth increases the area of contact between the load and the head. Thus, the Pressure on the head decreases
and it becomes easier to carry the heavy load.

21. Why does a tyre get inflated when air is pumped into it?
The air pumped inside the tyre exerts equal pressure in all directions on the inner walls of the tyre and inflates it.

22. A girl of weight 500N is standing on pencil heels each of area of cross section 1cm 2 and an elephant of
weight 50000N with foot area 250 cm2 each standing on floor. Which one will exert more pressure on the
ground? What is the difference between the pressure exerted by the girl and the elephant?
In Case of the Girl:
2 2 2
Total area of the pencil heels (of the two feet) = 2 × 1cm = 2cm = 2/10000 = .0002 m

So, Pressure exerted by the girl = Force(Weight) / Total Area

= 500N / 0.0002m2
= 2500000 Pascal

In Case of the Elephant:

2 2 2
Total area of the four feet = 4 × 250cm = 1000cm = 1000 / 10000 = 0.1m
So, Pressure exerted by the Elephant = Force(Weight) Total Area
= 50000N / 0.1m2
= 500000 Pascal
Thus, the girl will exert much more pressure than the elephant.
Difference between the pressures = 2500000 − 500000 = 2000000 Pascal

23. Explain the term ‘Atmospheric Pressure’.

The Air above the Earth’s surface extends to a height of several kilometers. A column of air 1sq cm in area,
extending from Earth surface up to the top of the atmosphere contains nearly 1kg of air. Thus, if the area of our
head is about 15cm × 15cm = 225 sq cm, then nearly 225 kg of air is pressing down on our head with a force of
2250 N (Newton). The pressure exerted by air around us is called Atmospheric Pressure or Air Pressure.

24. Describe an activity with a neat and well labelled diagram to show
that liquid pressure varies with height.
As shown in the figure, a Plastic Pipe of length 15-20 cm is taken and a
balloon is attached to one of its ends. When some water is poured into the
pipe, the balloon bulges out. When some more water is poured into the
tube,
the height of water column increases inside the pipe. The balloon bulges
out even more. This shows that as the height of water (liquid) changes, its
pressure also changes.
25. Sharp Knives cut vegetables more easily than blunt knives. Explain.
Sharper knife blade would exert higher pressure than a blunt knife blade. This is because a sharp knife blade would
have lesser area of contact with the surface being cut. Thus, it would cut more easily and smoothly.