Question

In a hydraulic machine, the area of smaller piston is 40 cm2 and it contains a load of 500 N so as to balance a load of 2500 N on piston of larger area. Find the area of larger piston.

Answer 1

The area of the larger piston = 200 cm²

The hydraulic press is based on the principle of Pascal's law , which states that any pressure change in a liquid is uniformly distributed throughout the liquid.

Let ,

F1 = 500 N = force on the smaller piston

F2= 2500 N = force on the larger piston

A1= 40 cm^2 = area of the smaller piston

A2 = area of the larger piston

For the hydraulic machine -

The pressure on both the pistons will be equal

P1 = P2 => F1/A1=F2/A2

=> A2=(F2×A1)/F1

=> A2=(2500×40)/500

=> A2=200 cm²

Area of the lager piston = 200 cm²