Name: ………………………………………………… Cambridge Ordinary Level - Physics

Assessment: Pressure
1) Stiletto heels can exert great pressure mainly due to
a. the large force acting on it
b. the small force acting on it
c. its large surface area
d. its small surface area

2) Which of the following places has the highest atmospheric pressure?

a. on the top of a hill
b. in a cable car
c. on the roof top of a tall building
d. at the bottom of the sea

3) Wind blows
a. from areas of high atmospheric pressure to low pressure areas
b. from areas of low atmospheric pressure to high pressure areas
c. only at areas above normal atmospheric pressure
d. only at areas below normal atmospheric pressure

4) The pressure in a liquid decreases with

a. increase in surface area
b. decrease in surface area
c. increase in depth
d. decrease in depth

5) A simple barometer filled with water has to have a minimum length of

a. 1cm
b. 10cm
c. 10m
d. 100m

6) A block of wood measuring 6m by 3m by 0.5m is placed on a table. If the mass of the block
of wood is 4500kg, what is the pressure on the table due to the block? take gravitational
force acting on a mass of 1kg to be 10N
a. 2500Pa
b. 5000Pa
c. 9000Pa
d. 22500Pa

7) A man stands on snow wearing a pair of skis. The total mass of the man is 60kg and each of
the skis has an area of 0.2m2 in contact with the snow. A 1kg mass has a gravitational force
of 10N acting on it. What pressure does the man exert on the snow?
a. 15N/m2
b. 30N/m2
c. 1500N/m2
d. 3000N/m2

K. Suresh Senanayake 1
B.Sc. (Hon’s) Physics (Sp), MIP (SL)
Name: ………………………………………………… Cambridge Ordinary Level - Physics

8) Which of the following does not cause the height of the mercury column of a simple
mercury barometer to vary?
a. changes in atmospheric pressure
b. changes in temperature of the mercury
c. changes in the value of g
d. evaporation of mercury from the barometer reservoir
e. leakage of air into the tube

9) In which of the following examples is the greatest pressure exerted?

a. a barefooted person standing on the beach
b. a brick resting on the ground
c. a book resting on a table
d. an elephant standing on the ground
e. a knife cutting a piece of meat

10) A tank 3 m long, 1 m wide, and 0.5 m deep is filled with oil which weighs 12 000 N. What is
the pressure on the base of the tank due to the oil?
a. 4000 Pa
b. 6000 Pa
c. 8000 Pa
d. 18 000 Pa
e. 24 000 Pa

11) Water of depth 10m exerts a pressure equal to atmospheric pressure. An air bubble rises to
the surface of a lake which is 20m deep. When the bubble reaches the surface, its volume is
6cm3. What was the volume of the air bubble at the bottom of the lake?
a. 2cm3
b. 3cm3
c. 12cm3
d. 18cm3

12) A rigid tank containing air at atmospheric pressure has a capacity of 5000 cm3. A bicycle
hand pump with a capacity of 500cm3 is used to pump more air into the rigid container.
Given that the hand pump is pumped twice to push two tubes of air into the tank, what is
the final air pressure in the tank? (take atmospheric pressure as 100 000 Pa)
a. 100 000 Pa
b. 120 000 Pa
c. 500 000 Pa
d. 1 000 000 Pa

13) Oxygen can be supplied to a fish tank by bubbling air into the water. What happens to the
pressure and the volume of air bubbles while they are rising?
pressure volume
a. decreases decreases
b. decreases increases
c. increases decreases
d. increases increases

K. Suresh Senanayake 2
B.Sc. (Hon’s) Physics (Sp), MIP (SL)
Name: ………………………………………………… Cambridge Ordinary Level - Physics

14) The rudder of a large ship is operated hydraulically. Oil at high pressure exerts a force F on
a piston that in turn moves a lever arm.

The oil is at a pressure of 500kPa and the surface area of the piston is 0.20m2. What is the
size of F?
a. 100N
b. 2500N
c. 100 000N
d. 250 000N

15) A manometer contains water and a liquid X. The

two liquids do not mix. The pressure at level P in
the water is equal to the pressure at level P in liquid
X. The density of water is 1000 kg/m3. What is the
density of liquid X?
a. 500 kg/m3
b. 800 kg/m3
c. 1250 kg/m3
d. 2000 kg/m3

Structured Essay Question:

1. The figure shows a mercury barometer on a day when the atmospheric pressure is 750mmHg.
What is the pressure at point B, at the bottom of the mercury reservoir?

K. Suresh Senanayake 3
B.Sc. (Hon’s) Physics (Sp), MIP (SL)
Name: ………………………………………………… Cambridge Ordinary Level - Physics

2. The figure shows a manometer with limbs of cross-sectional

area of 0.0015m2. It contains a liquid which exerts a pressure
of 5000Nm-3.
Calculate
a. the volume of liquid between the levels PQ and RS in the
left-hand tube
b. the weight of the volume of liquid in a.
c. the excess pressure, in Nm-2, of the gas supply above the
surrounding atmospheric pressure.

3. When a block of metal of mass 1.2 kg stands on a horizontal surface, the area of contact between
the block and the surface is 8.0 cm2. Assuming that the force of gravity acting on a mass of 1 kg
is 10 N, calculate the pressure exerted by the block on the surface.

4. The figure shows a U-tube manometer connected to a gas

cylinder of large volume. The atmospheric pressure is 76 cm
of mercury.
a.
i. What is the pressure at A in the right-hand tube?
ii. What is the pressure at B in the left-hand tube?
b. The tap is opened and mercury is run out until the level
in the left-hand tube drops to the 60cm mark.
i. assuming that the pressure in the gas cylinder remains
constant, what is the new position of the level in the
right-hand tube?
ii. Explain how you arrived at your answer.

5. The figure shows two vertical tubes P and Q, each closed at

the upper end. The pressure in the space above the mercury
meniscus in tube P is negligibly small. There is a small amount
of air in this space in the tube Q. The density of mercury is
13.6 x 10 kg m-3. The gravitational force on a mass of 1.00 kg
is 10.0 N.
Determine
a. the atmospheric pressure, in Pa, at that time.
b. the pressure, in Pa, exerted by the air in the space at the
top of tube Q.

6. The tyres of a car are in contact with the ground over a total area 3.0 x 10-2 m2. The total weight
of the car is 6300 N. Calculate the pressure exerted by the tyres on the ground. Why would you
expect the temperature of the tyres to have risen after the car has been in motion for some time?

K. Suresh Senanayake 4
B.Sc. (Hon’s) Physics (Sp), MIP (SL)
Name: ………………………………………………… Cambridge Ordinary Level - Physics

1. The Figure below shows part of the route of a roller-coaster in which the passenger car pulled up to
point A and released.

2. During one run, a car and passengers of total mass 800 kg are released from rest at point A, a height of
30 m above the terminal platform. The car travels a distance of 120 m along the track to reach the
highest point B of the vertical loop which is 20 m above the terminal platform. A constant frictional
force of 250N acts between the car and the track as the car moves from A to B.
a. In moving from A to B, calculate.
i. the loss in potential energy of the car,
ii. the work done against friction by the car,
iii. the gain in kinetic energy of the car,
iv. the speed of the car at B.
b. In the design of the roller coaster, do you think the summit C can be higher than point B? Explain
briefly.

K. Suresh Senanayake 5
B.Sc. (Hon’s) Physics (Sp), MIP (SL)