Suppose that a large cargo truck needs to cross a bridge, The truck is 30 m long and 3.2 m wide. The cargo exerts a force or 54.000 N The bridge can only withstand 450 Pa of pressure. Is it safe for the truck to cross the bridge?

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Answer 1 · 2017-05-23T13:07:02

I think not (the force is #54,000N#, isn't it?)

We can evaluate the pressure exerted by the truck as:

#"Pressure"="Force"/"area"

#"Pressure"=(54,000)/(30×3.2)=562.5Pa#

That is higher than the pressure the bridge can withstand.