NIOS Class 10 Science Activity 10.6 Force and Motion

In this activity, we will learn the effect of thrust acting on a surface through a simple and easy demonstration. In the previous activity 10.5, we have learnt about Friction.

NIOS Class 10 Science and Technology (212) Project File

This activity is based on the NIOS Class 10 science and technology (212) chapter 10, 'Force and Motion,' from module 3, 'Moving Things.'

Activity 10.6 – Pressure and Thrust

Aim of the activity

To study how pressure depends on the surface and what is thrust.

Materials Required

   1. Small wooden board (10 ×cm10 ×1.0cm)

   2. Iron nails ( 4)

   3. Tray

   4. Sand

   5. 500 g weight

Procedure

We take a small wooden board with nails fixed at all four corners. Then we take a tray filled with sand to a depth of around 6 cm.

Now we place the board on the sand with the nail heads facing downwards and place a 500 g weight on it. We observe how deeply nails penetrate into the sand.

 Next, we flip the board so that the pointed ends of the nails face downwards, and we place the same weight on it. We observe the depth of penetration in the sand again.

Observation

We observe that the nails with pointed ends downward penetrate deeper into the sand as compared to when the nail heads were facing downward.

Explanation

The pointed ends of the nails have a smaller contact area with sand, so the thrust produces greater pressure, and it penetrates deeper.

`\Pressure =\frac{Thrust}{Area}`

 

 SI unit of pressure

1) Pascal (Pa)

2) 1 Pascal is equal to Nm^-2

 

The thrust on unit area is called pressure. The action of thrust depends on the area of the surface it acts upon.

Conclusion

We can conclude that:

   1.  Thrust depends on the surface area over which it is applied.

   2. Thrust on a small surface area results in higher pressure.

   3. Pressure changes when surface area changes, when thrust is constant.

Frequently Asked Questions

   1. What is thrust?

Answer – The force acting upon the surface of a body perpendicular to it is called thrust.

   2. What is pressure?

Answer – The thrust on unit area is called pressure.

   3. What is the SI unit of pressure?

Answer – Pascal (Pa)

All Activities NIOS Class 10 Science Force and Motion

S.N.	Topics
1	Activity 10.1
2	Activity 10.2
3	Activity 10.3
4	Activity 10.4
5	Activity 10.5
6	Activity 10.6