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Density of water per unit volume ie. g/cm3 * depth of water (cm). Answer will be in g/sq cm. Density of water is approximately 1g / cm3 therefore pressure at the bottom of a dam wall with 1m of water = 0.1kg / sq cm. Note: this is only valid at the bottom of the wall, half way up the 1m of water the pressure would be 0.05kg / sq cm. At the very surface of the water, there would be no pressure. Thats why a finger in a dyke (dike) can hold back the North Sea!

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15y ago
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8y ago

Because the water pressure - and the force exerted by the water on the dam - is greater the deeper the dam is.

A dam is thicker at the base because the pressure on the dam wall increases with the depth of the water due to the weight of the water above.

Dive to the bottom of a pool and you will feel the increase of pressure on your ears as you go down.

Because the pressure of the water is much greater at the base of the dam. Making it wider increases the strengthen of the dam.

Dams are built wider at the base for two reasons:

1.Because it needs to be stable enough to support the dam.

2.The bottom of the dam needs to be able to deal with the increased pressure of the water, as you get further down.

Pressure in the sea increases as you go deeper. If the dam was the same thickness all over, the bottom would not be able to withstand the high pressure. For this reason, the bottoms are made wider so that it can take the high pressure.

The water pressure at the bottom is much more than at the top.

Same as why submarines need a thicker hull to go deeper.

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Bruno Tangeni

Lvl 3
2y ago

To avoid the breakage of the dam due to high pressure of water on the dam

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12y ago

No. The elevation is lower at the bottom of the dam,

but the water pressure is higher there.

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13y ago

to avoid over turning

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Q: Is pressure lower at the bottom of a dam?
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Continue Learning about Physics

What causes the turbine of a hydro-electric dam to turn?

Water pressure.


Why is air pressure lower at the top of mountain than at the bottom of a mountain?

In one word - gravity ! Gravity hold the atmosphere close to the surface of the Earth. The higher you are off the ground - the lower the gravitational effects.


How does the height of the dam affect the amount of energy generated?

The critical value is not the height of the dam itself but the height, or "head" of water inlet above the turbine. The higher the head the greater the pressure available, so provided it's also matched by sufficient flow the greater the power output. To illustrate the first point, a 30m high dam will produce the same power output from a given generating set level with its base, as a 5m high dam whose turbo-alternator is 25m lower in altitude down-valley - neglecting flow losses by fristion in the longer pipe-line. It's still 30m head even though the dam wall is far lower.


Is there more pressure at the bottom of a bathtub of water 30cm deep or at a bottom of a pitcher of water 35cm deep?

There would be more pressure at the bottom of a pitcher of water 35cm deep. +++ To explain, the pressure is a function purely of depth, not volume.


Two dams form artificial lakes of equal depth. however one lake backs up 15 km behind the dam and the other backs up 30 km behind. what effect does the difference in length have on the pressure on the?

Careful! This is a tricky question. When we're talking about the pressure on the dam, we only really care about the depth of the lakes, not their lengths. The answer is that the length of the lakes makes no difference on the pressure exerted on the dam. Thanks Mr. Sacks!

Related questions

Why the base of the dam is made wider?

The pressure of the water against the top of the dam wall, is much less than the pressure exerted against the bottom of the dam wall. The width of a dam wall increases to compensate for the increased water pressures at the lower level.


Why is the base of a dam thinner then the wall?

The pressure against the dam wall increases at the lower levels than nearer the surface. So I expect the foot of the dam wall to be thicker at the bottom than at the top.


Why do dams need to be thicker on the bottom and thiner at the top?

because the water pressure on the damn is much higher on the bottom of it than the top.


Why are dams made thinner at the bottom?

This is because the pressure in a liquid increases with depth. This means that the pressure at the bottom of the dam is more. Hence it is more liable to break out from the dam as more pressure is exerted on the walls. So, the walls are thicker at the bottom.


Why are dams over rivers are made broader at bottom than at the top?

The pressure of the water (the weight) is greater at the bottom, due to the depth of the water. As the pressure is less near the top, the top of the dam wall doesn't need to be as thick as the bottom of the dam wall.


Why are the walls of a dam thickened near the base?

Dams are built broader at the base for two reasons. The first is because it needs to be stable enough to support the dam, and two, the bottom of the dam needs to be able to deal with the increased pressure of the water, as you get further down.So basically, they're thicker at the bottom mostly for aesthetic reasons, but luckily this also means they're stronger at the bottom which is where the water pressure is greatest - definitely a bonus.A:Two reasons: Particular to dams, the lower part of the structure must hold back the lower levels of water, which are at higher pressure than the upper levels of the water. Higher water pressure on the base of the dam needs greater strength to hold it back.The base of the dam must support the weight of all the structure above it. Even if it was not a dam, but just a tower (or a pyramid), the lower sections must be stronger, and higher sections can be weaker because there is less weight above them.A:Water pressure is greater at the base than the surface. A:Can you imagine if it was the other way around, thicker at the top? That would look pretty stupid and would ruin the beginning of the movie 'Goldeneye' where James Bond slides down the sloping dam wall - instead he'd fall off and face instant death.


Why are the walls of a dam made thick at the bottom and thin upward?

The deeper the depth, the greater is the pressure the weight of water puts on the dam wall.


Why are dams built stronger and broader at the bottom?

Because water pressure is more intense at depth than it is near the surface - hence the dam has to be stronger at the bottom - it withstands more pressure at the bottom.


What is hydraulic height as it relates to a dam?

The pressure that water exerts on the walls of the dam is proportional to the depth of the water or you might say the height of the column of water from the base of the dam. The hydraulic height is the same as the depth of the water to the bottom of the dam.


Why A dam has broader world at the bottom than at the top?

Due to the that the pressure exerted by a liquid increase with its depth. Thus as depth increase, more and more pressure is exert by water on the wall of dam. A thick wall is required to withstand a great pressure, therefore, the wall of the dam is made with thickness increasing towards the base


Why does a dam at the end of a lake need to be wider at the bottom?

Because water pressure is greater near the surface of the water


Why dams must be constructed so that they are much thicker at the bottom than the top?

Because the water pressure at the bottom of the dam is much more than the top.