Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Science Single Award 14: Physics: Solids, liquids and gases
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Science Single Award 4SS0 notes on physics: solids, liquids and gases.
Despite the broad topic title, the Science Single Award boundary focuses on pressure and the particle model of an ideal gas. These notes follow Pearson 4SS0 Issue 4 exactly. Density calculations, liquid-depth pressure, specific heat capacity, latent heat and quantitative gas laws belong to broader routes and are excluded.
Pressure, force and area
Pressure is force distributed over area:
Pressure is in pascals, force in newtons and area in square metres. One pascal is one newton per square metre. For a fixed force, reducing contact area increases pressure. For a fixed area, increasing force increases pressure.
This explains why a sharp blade cuts more easily, a drawing pin has a sharp point, snowshoes reduce sinking and wide foundations spread building weight. The mechanism is not that a small area creates extra force. It concentrates the same force over less area.
Area conversion is a common source of large errors. Since
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