A green sedan weighing 25,000 Newtons is put on a lift supported by a piston with

a cross sectional area of 0.1 square meters.  What is the minimum force that must
be exerted by the air compressor that pushes down on the oil in the reservoir of the lift system in order to lift the sedan if the cross-sectional area of the reservoir  
is 1.0 square meter? (Hint: use Pascal’s Law.)
   

To calculate the minimum force exerted by the air compressor, we can use Pascal's Law, which states that pressure applied to a fluid in a closed system will be transmitted equally throughout the entire system.

Let's break down the calculation step by step:

Step 1: Calculate the pressure applied by the sedan on the piston.
- Pressure is defined as force divided by area.
- The force applied by the sedan is its weight, which is 25,000 Newtons.
- The area of the piston is given as 0.1 square meters.
- So, the pressure applied by the sedan on the piston is 25,000 Newtons divided by 0.1 square meters, which is equal to 250,000 Pascal.

Step 2: Calculate the minimum force exerted by the air compressor.
- Since we know the pressure applied by the sedan on the piston, we can calculate the force exerted by the air compressor using the formula for pressure: pressure equals force divided by area.
- The area of the reservoir is given as 1.0 square meter.
- So, the minimum force exerted by the air compressor is the pressure (250,000 Pascal) multiplied by the area of the reservoir (1.0 square meter), which is equal to 250,000 Newtons.

Therefore, the minimum force that must be exerted by the air compressor to lift the sedan is 250,000 Newtons.