How does a hydraulic jack work and how do I work out the pressures involved?

(Draw hydraulic jack diagram using Pen tool) Firstly, we need the quation for pressure. Pressure is measured in Nm^2 which tells us that P=F/A. Where P is the pressure, F is the force in Newtons and A is the area in meters squared. When looking at the jack, we can see that we have 2 areas, one smaller one and one bigger one. But, since both sections of the jack are connected the pressure must be the same! Looking back at the equation for pressure, if P stays the same but A is bigger, F must be smaller so that P is constant. This means that if I apply a small force to the big area, a big force will act on the small area since P stays the same. This is why a hydraulic jack is also known as a force multiplier. If you want to work out exactly how big this force is, we can set P1=P2 and hence F1/A1=F2/A2 and then re-arrange to get F2=(F1/A1)*F2 (Please note at this point that I would draw this equation since typed equations can be very confusting as fractions get involved)

Answered by Max Z. Physics tutor

4793 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

define 1 volt


Explain the role of the moderator in a fission reaction.


How can an object be at rest without friction?


I never know where to start where I get a calculation question given many values, what should I do? (e.g: finding how much energy is needed for all the ice in a glass of water to melt after the ice is dropped into warm water)


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences