IGCSE Physics

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Name: .

IGCSE PHYSICS
Section 5. Solids, liquids and gases
or

References in these notes are to the IGCSE textbook (Arnold et al.), unless otherwise
stated. You may need use yourbooks index to the book to complete the notes.

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We know that some materials are light while

some are very heavy. For instance, a cube of
polystyrene will weigh a lot less than the
same size cube of steel.
This is because there is a lot more matter
(atoms) in a cube of steel than a cube of
polystyrene (which is mostly air)
We can compare the amount of matter in different materials by defining a
property called density (symbol,

- rho ).

A materials density tells us

how much mass it has in a certain volume.

For example, water has a density of 1000 kg/m3 - this means that a
volume of 1 cubic metre of water has a mass of 1000kg, (and therefore
weighs 10,000N)

Density can be calculated using this equation:

Density = mass
Volume

or

m
V

Units

If mass is in kg and volume is in m3 then Volume is given in:

kg m-3 (kg / m3)

If mass is in g and volume is in cm3 then Volume is given in:

g cm-3 (g / cm3)

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Pressure is used to describe how concentrated a force is over a

certain area.

For example, if a women wearing high heels

stepped on your toe, it would be considerably
more painful than if she was wearing flat
shoes. This is because all her weight is
concentrated in one very small area, i.e. she

is

exerting a very high pressure.

Pressure, force and area are related by the following equation:

Pressure

(N/m2).

= force (N)
area (m2)

F
A

(The smaller the area the bigger the pressure)

Force is measured in Newtons (N)

Area is (usually) measured in metres squared (m2)
Pressure is therefore measured in Newtons per square metre
(N/m2).

(If area is measured in cm2 or mm2 then units of pressure will be

N/cm2 or N/mm2)

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Alternative units of pressure:

1 N/m2 = 1 Pascal (Pa)

Example:
a) If a women has a mass of 50 kg and if she is wearing high heels with an area of 0.5 cm2,
what pressure will she exert on a man's toe if she is standing on it on one heel only?
(Assume 'g' = 10 m/s2)
pressure =
force,
__________________
area

force = weight of women =

area =

_________________________________

So, pressure = ____________________________________________

b) If she is wearing flat shoes with a heel area of 5cm2 then what would the new pressure be ?
pressure =
force,
___________________
area

force = weight of women =

area = __________________________________

So, pressure = ____________________________________________

b) She then stands on a large box of mass 5kg with an area of 1m2 , what pressure does the box
exert on the ground?
pressure =
force,
______________
area

force = weight of women + box =

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area = __________________

So, pressure = ______________________________________________

Further examples on pressure calculations

PressureForce (in newtons)
=
(in N/m2)Area (in m2)

Units: N/m2 (or Pa)orN/cm2

Questions for each question show working clearly

1. What pressure is exerted by each of the following?

Example

Answer

Aa)boxAweighs
100100
N. N acting on an area of 5 m . ________________________________________________
pressure =
force
=
100N
force of
The area of the box touching
area
0.5m2
2
the
is of
0.520
m N acting on an area of 0.5 m 2.________________________________________________
b) ground
A force
2

200 N/m2

What is the pressure exerted?

c) A force of 100 N acting on an area of 5 cm2.________________________________________________

2. The suitcase shown measures

1.0 m 0.5 m 0.2 m.
It has a mass of 10 kg.
a) What is its weight (in newtons)? _________________

b) What is the area of each face of the suitcase? _____________________________________________

c) What is the pressure exerted in position 1? _____________________________________________
d) What is the pressure exerted in position 2? _____________________________________________

3. A boy weighs 400 N.

The total area of both his shoes is 200 cm2. He stands on both feet.

a) What is the pressure exerted on the floor, in N/cm2? _________________________________________

b) What is the pressure exerted on the floor, in N/m2? __________________________________________

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In any liquid, the deeper one goes the greater the pressure one experiences,
e.g. when scuba diving.
This pressure is due to the force applied by the liquid (i.e. the weight of the
liquid); the deeper one goes the greater the amount of liquid (i.e. the weight of
liquid) that is above you, pushing on you and
all the liquid around you.

Pressure increases with depth

Pressure acts in all directions

So, the liquid at the bottom of the cylinder is
under the most pressure, and is therefore
pushed out of the hole under the greatest
pressure, and so spouts the greatest distance horizontally.

Pressure and

Upthrust

A liquid pushes on all the surfaces in contact

with it, but because pressure increases with
depth, the pressure on the bottom of the block
is greater than that on the top - this difference
causes the upthrust, i.e. the force pushing
up .

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Pressure depends on density

Denser liquids exert greater pressures, and therefore a greater upthrust, so

the block floats higher in the more dense salt water.

Floating and

UPTHRUST
An object floats when the
upthrust, caused by the
pressure of the water on the
object, balances the (downward)
weight of the object.

Calculating the pressure in a liquid

Pressure in a liquid at a depth of
surface:
Pressure (N/m ) = density of liquid(kg/m )
gravity(N/kg) x depth (m)
2

and as an equation:

P =

xgxh

units:

Nm-2

h below the

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where

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is the density of the liquid (units: kg/m )

3

Pressure is directly proportional to depth, if the depth is doubled so is the

pressure

Pressure is directly proportional to density if the density is doubled so is the

pressure

Example
A diver is 20m beneath the surface of the water, what is the pressure on him? (density
of water = 1000 kg/m3, g = 10 N/kg)

P = g h = __________________________________

Brownian motion is evidence that gases and liquids are made up of particles in random motion.

It was first observed by Robert Brown in 1827, when he noticed that pollen grains in water moved
about randomly.

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We can observe the same effect using smoke

particles in air.

Brownian motion was explained by Einstein in

1905. He said the movement of pollen grains (or
smoke particles) was due to water (or air) molecules

moving about quickly

and bumping (colliding) into them.

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in gases
Complete the text, using the words in the box.

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area
pressure

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collisions
quickly

equally

force
random

force
spread

How a gas exerts pressure

Gas molecules are in constant _______________ motion.

When a molecule collides with the side of the container, it exerts a

__________ on it.

There are many molecules, all moving ______________ , so there are many
_______________ .

The force is ______________ over the wall of the container, creating a ___________________ .

_________ ___________ = pressure.

At a point in a gas that is not moving, the pressure acts ______________ in all directions.

Factors that affect the pressure of a gas

Temperature
Increasing the temperature increases the kinetic energy of the gas molecules, so they move
faster. They therefore collide with the wall of the container more often and each collision is
harder, so the pressure increases.
Volume
Decreasing the volume means that the molecules have a shorter distance to travel between
collisions with the walls. Collisions are therefore more frequent (happen more often) and the
pressure increases.

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Effect of

on gas pressure

If the pressure of a gas is measured at different temperatures while the volume is kept
constant, it is found that the pressure increases with temperature.
Graph

If the temperature is measured in units called kelvin (K), the pressure doubles if the
temperature in these units is doubled. i.e.
Or,

p1_ = _p2_
T1
T2

P (N/m2)

for calculations:

is proportional to

where: p1 and T1 are the initial conditions

and:

The Kelvin scale is related to the Celsius scale:

Temperature in Kelvin = temperature in degrees Celsius + 273
Temperature in degrees Celsius = temperature in Kelvin 273

Zero Kelvin (0K) is the lowest possible temperature.

It is called .

0 K = -273 C

T (K)

p2 and T2 are the final conditions

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Examples 2 and 3 from pages 155-156.

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Copy these examples here, making sure you understand them.Effect

on pressure of changing

The change in the volume of a gas with pressure at a constant temperature may be investigated using
the apparatus shown on the right.
The gas is trapped in a glass tube and its volume a read
from the scale. The pressure in the reservoir b is
transmitted by a column of oil c, to the gas. It may be
changed, and its value read on the pressure gauge d.

The length of the air column is proportional to the volume of air.

Take readings of corresponding values of pressure and volume.

Graph of pressure against volume for a fixed mass of gas at constant temperature

Graph of pressure against 1/volume for a fixed mass of gas at constant temperature

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Analysis of graphs

From the graph of pressure against volume, we can see that as the volume decreases, the pressure ________________ .

We can explain this in terms of molecules, because if the container is smaller each molecule does not have to travel so
far between collisions so the rate of collisions increases.

We can also see that halving the volume _________________ the pressure.

We say that pressure is ______________ _____________ to volume. This is shown by the graph of pressure against
1/volume, which is a straight line through the origin.

This relationship between pressure and volume for a gas at a constant temperature is called

Boyles Law.

This can be stated:

For a fixed _____________ of gas at constant _________________ , pressure is ______________

____________________ to volume.

It follows mathematically that:

which can be seen from the table.

For
to use the

p1 x V1 = p2 x V2

calculations, it is usually easiest

form:

Example
A deep sea diver is working at a depth where the pressure is 300 kPa. He is breathing out air
bubbles. The volume of each bubble is 2 cm3. At the surface the pressure is 100 kPa. What is
the volume of each bubble when it reaches the surface?

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BOYLES LAW Questions

Boyles Law: if a fixed mass of gas is kept at a constant temperature, then
pressure1 volume1 = pressure2 volume2

or

p1V1 = p2V2

(p1 and p2 must have the same units. Similarly for V1 and V2)

Example

Answer
3

A blocked syringe contains 30 cm of air

at a pressure of 100 kN/m2. It is squeezed
until the volume is 10 cm3.

If the temperature stays constant,

what is the new pressure?

Since the temperature is constant:

pressure1 volume1 = pressure2 volume2
100 kN/m2 30 cm3 = pressure2 10 cm3
pressure2 = 300 kN/m2
(the unit for pressure2 is the same as given for pressure1 )

Questions
For each question show all your working clearly.

1. A blocked syringe contains

50 cm3 of air at a
2
pressure of 100 kN/m .
It is squeezed until the volume is 10 cm3, at
the same temperature.
What is the new pressure? ________________________________________________________
2. A bicycle pump contains 100 cm3 of air at a
pressure of 1.0 atmosphere.
The air is compressed to 40 cm3 at the same
temperature.
What is the pressure now? ________________________________________________________
3. A bicycle pump contains 200cm3 of
air and is connected to a bicycle tyre.
The volume of the tyre is 800 cm3.
The pressure of the air in the tyre (it is flat) is
1.0 atmosphere, the same as the air in the pump.
a) What is the total volume of the air initially? (= volume1) __________________________________
b) What is the volume of air after the pump is pushed in? (= volume 2) __________________________
c) What will be the pressure in the tyre then? _____________________________________________

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THE GAS LAWS

Question and answers to help you with the questions over page
1

Which 3 variables can be changed for a gas?

... pressure, volume, temperature.

Which one must be kept constant if Boyles

Law is to be obeyed?

... temperature.

If the temperature is kept constant, and the

pressure is halved, what happens to the
volume of a gas?

... the volume is doubled.

State an equation for Boyles Law.

... p1 V1 = p2 V2
if the temperature is constant

If 60 cm3 of air at a pressure of 100 kN/m2

is squeezed until the volume is 20 cm3 at the
same temperature, what is the new pressure?

... p1 V1 = p2 V2
100 60 = p2 20
p2 = 300 kN/m2

Use the idea of molecules to explain Boyles

Law.

... if the volume is halved, then the number of

molecules per cm3 will be doubled.
Since pressure is caused by the
bombardment of the molecules, this means
the pressure will be doubled.
All this is true only if the molecules keep
the same average speed (that is, they keep
at the same temperature).

What is the temperature of absolute zero?

... 273C.