Physics

Problem

A circular piston of area

0.015\,\text{m}^2

is in contact with an enclosed ideal gas at a uniform pressure of

1.2\times10^{5}\,\text{Pa}

. What is the magnitude of the force the gas exerts on the piston? a)

1.8\times10^{2}\,\text{N}

1.8\times10^{3}\,\text{N}

8.0\times10^{6}\,\text{N}

1.8\times10^{4}\,\text{N}

Intuitive explanation

Pressure is force per unit area—it tells you how much push is concentrated on each square meter of surface. Since the gas pressure is uniform across the entire piston, you just need to multiply the pressure by the total area to find the total force. This is a direct application of the definition $P = F/A$ , rearranged to solve for what you're looking for.

Intuitive explanation

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