🧠 Doubt Destroyer: Common Confusions in Pressure and Contact Force
❌ Confusion 1: Pressure and Force are the same thing.
Incorrect belief: "More pressure means more force always."
Incorrect belief: "More pressure means more force always."
✅ Reality: Pressure depends on both force and area. You can have high pressure with low force if the area is small.
Pressure = Force ÷ Area
🔑 Key Point: Force is a **vector** (has direction), pressure is **scalar** (only magnitude).
❌ Confusion 2: Contact force only acts when an object is in full contact.
Misconception: "If it touches lightly, there’s no contact force."
Misconception: "If it touches lightly, there’s no contact force."
✅ Reality: As soon as objects touch—even lightly—contact forces (like normal force, friction) come into play.
🔍 Key Point: Contact forces include **friction**, **tension**, and **normal reaction**—all require physical touch.
❌ Confusion 3: Smaller area always means higher force.
Flawed reasoning: "Nail is sharp, so it hits harder because it has more force."
Flawed reasoning: "Nail is sharp, so it hits harder because it has more force."
✅ Reality: A smaller area increases **pressure**, not force. The force can be the same, but pressure changes.
💡 Example: A woman in heels exerts more pressure on the ground than an elephant — because of tiny contact area!
