A Boeing-737 airliner has a mass of 20 500 kg.The total area of the wings is 105 m².What must be the pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wings to keep the airplane up?

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To keep the airplane up, the lift force must equal the weight of the airplane. The weight $W = mg$, where $m = 20500 \, \text{kg}$ and $g = 9.8 \, \text{m/s}^2$, so $W = 20500 \times 9.8 = 200900 \, \text{N}$. The lift force is also given by the equation $L = p \times A$, where $p$ is the pressure difference and $A$ is the wing area. Rearranging for $p$, we get $p = \frac{L}{A} = \frac{W}{A} = \frac{200900}{105} = 1913.33 \, \text{Pa}$, which rounds to $1.91 \times 10^3 \, \text{Pa}$.

A Boeing-737 Airliner Has a Mass of 20 500 Kg