A solid cuboid is standing on a flat surface on one of its faces. The cuboid is 3 cm by 4 cm by 5 cm and has a mass of 0.5 kg. What is the maximum pressure that the cuboid can exert on the surface?

1 Answer
MetaPhysik
Dec 30, 2017

The face with the smallest area

Explanation:

Pressure is force per unit Area.

#P = F/A#

In this case, the force is the weight and A is one of the 6 faces of the cube. The weight won't change, and the area depends on which face is touching the surface. The area has three possible values.

# P = F/(4xx3), F/(3xx5),or F/(4xx5) #

# P = F/12, F/15, or F/20 #

The smallest area yields the highest pressure.

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