During take-off from earth, an astronaut of mass 76kg has an area of contact with his seat of 0.095m^2. Calculate the average pressure on the seat when the upward acceleration of the rocket is 47ms^-2

There are two parts to this question that we should consider seperately:
Firstly, we need to work out the total thrust force that is being applied through the seat onto the astronaut. Critically, this is the sum of both his weight and the force required to produce the resultant 47ms^-2 acceleration rather that just one of these.thrust = 76 x (47 + 9.81) = 4,318N
To determine the pressure, we can use the relevant equation: Pressure = Force / Area because we know both what the total force through the seat and the area of the seat are.Pressure = 4,318 / 0.095 = 45,400 Pa to 3 significant figures

ON

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A water jet starts at a point X and reaches its maximum height at a point Y. Air resistance has a negligible effect on the motion of the water jet. (i) State the direction of the force acting on the jet at Y. (1 mark)


How does the angle of an inclined plane relate to its efficiency, given the coefficient of friction between a body and the plane?


On the line of centres between the Earth and the Moon, there is a point where the net gravitational force is zero. Given that the distance between the two is 385,000 km, and that the Earth has a mass 81x that of the Moon, how far is this point from Earth?


Why does gravitational potential energy have a negative value?