Pistons and pressure question help

  • Thread starter Thread starter lollol
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Pressure
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on calculating the average pressure exerted on two equal pistons with a given force. The formula for pressure, P = F/A, is applied, and participants debate whether to combine the areas of the pistons. Clarification is sought on the meaning of "average," with some concluding that the average pressure remains the same regardless of whether areas are combined. It is emphasized that the force remains constant, and thus the average pressure calculation does not change. Overall, the confusion lies in interpreting the average pressure in relation to the individual pressures of each piston.
lollol
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
area of a piston is 0.02

what is the AVERAGE pressure exerted on 2 equal pistons if the force is 25 N

P = F/A

do you just combine the areas.. and divide the combined area by F

i just did... pressure = F/Area of 1 piston

and since it said average... they both give the same pressure.. add them up.. divide by two, and end up with the same pressure. Is this wrong?

I didn't combine the areas
 
Physics news on Phys.org
can you write out the entire, complete question?
 
The force exerted on 2 pistons was 10 N.. let's say
Area of each piston is 2m

What was the average pressure on the pistons? The word average confused the heck out of me...

so I found the pressure on each... added them.. divided by 2... and got the same pressure

Was I supposed to add the two areas?
 
think about it. what has changed?

if you were to divide pressure by half then you must also divide F/a by half as well otherwise the equation won't work. if you do that then nothing has changed and your getting no where.

and just to give you an even bigger hint: force isn't changing either.

hope this helps
 
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Back
Top