Question

A 50 kg girl wearing high heel shoes balances on a single heel. The heel is circular with a diameter 1.0 cm. What is the pressure exerted by the heel on the horizontal floor ?

Answer 1

Mass of the girl, m = 50 kg
Diameter of the heel, d = 1 cm = 0.01 m
Radius of the heel,\( r = \frac{d }{ 2}\) = 0.005 m
Area of the heel = πr² 

= π(0.005)² 

= 7.85 × 10^–5 m²
Force exerted by the heel on the floor : 

F = mg 

= 50 × 9.8 

= 490 N
Pressure exerted by the heel on the floor : 

\(P = \frac{Force }{ Area }\)

\(= \frac{490 }{7.85 × 10 ^{- 5}} \)

= 6.24 × 10 ⁶ N m ^{- 2}
Therefore, the pressure exerted by the heel on the horizontal floor is 6.24 × 10 ⁶ N m^-2.