An elephant has a weight of 50 000 N50\,000\ \text{N}50000 N. The elephant stands with all four feet on the ground. Each foot has an area of 0.10 m2 in contact with the ground.
A woman has a weight of 600 N. She stands only on the heels of her two shoes. Each heel has an area of 1.0 cm2 in contact with the ground.
Calculate the pressure exerted on the ground by the elephant.
Calculate the pressure exerted on the ground by the woman.
Use 1 m2=10 000 cm21\ \text{m}^{2} = 10\,000\ \text{cm}^{2}1 m2=10000 cm2.
The elephant and the woman each walk across the same wooden floor.
Explain why the floor is more likely to be damaged by the woman than by the elephant.
132 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 15.2 Pressure in fluids, covering 15.2.1 Atmospheric pressure and height, 15.2.2 Pressure in fluids, 15.2.3 Pressure, force and area, 15.2.4 Pressure and depth, 15.2.5 Pressure in liquids: depth and density, 15.2.6 Upthrust, and 15.2.7 Floating and sinking. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.