Question

A student with a mass of 75.0 kg is sitting on 4-legged lab stool that has a mass of 3.0 kg. Each leg of the stool is circular and has a diameter of 2.50 cm. Find the pressure under each leg of the stool. (Hints: (1) Remember to convert cm² to m² for the area of the legs of the stool. (2) Remember that the stool has four legs. (3) Note that the problem gives the diameter of the legs of the stool, not the radius.)

Answer 1

1171,875 N/m^2.

Step-by-step explanation:

First, we need to calculate the area of each leg of the stool. We can do this by finding the radius of the leg and then using the formula for the area of a circle:

Area = pi * radius^2

Diameter = 2.5 cm = 0.025 m

Radius = Diameter / 2 = 0.025 / 2 = 0.0125 m

Area = pi * 0.0125^2 = 0.00016 m^2

Next, we can find the total force being applied to each leg of the stool by the student by using the formula for weight:

Weight = mass * gravity = 75 kg * 10 m/s^2 = 750 N

Since there are 4 legs, each leg has to support 750 N / 4 = 187.5 N

Finally, we can find the pressure under each leg of the stool using the formula:

Pressure = Force / Area = 187.5 N / 0.00016 m^2 = 1171,875 Pa = 1171,875 N/m^2

So, the pressure under each leg of the stool is 1171,875 N/m^2.