SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/eng-hydraulic-force-multiplication

An ideal hydraulic output piston has five times the input area. How does output force compare?

The output force is five times larger.

Start playing free

  1. Five times larger ✔
  2. Five times smaller
  3. Exactly the same

Why: Equal pressure acts on both pistons, so F1/A1 = F2/A2. Five times the area gives five times the force, ignoring height differences and friction.

Huh, didn't know that: Force multiplication trades for distance: the larger piston moves less far for the same displaced fluid volume.

The dad joke
The hydraulic jack got promoted because it lifted the whole team.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Five times larger. Equal pressure acts on both pistons, so F1/A1 = F2/A2. Five times the area gives five times the force, ignoring height differences and friction.

  1. OpenStax University Physics Volume 1, Pascal's Principle and Hydraulics openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/14-3-pascals-principle-and-hydraulics
    To make the force larger, the pressure is applied to a larger area.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

EngineeringWhat does Pascal's principle say an enclosed fluid transmits undiminished?EngineeringHow many base units does the International System of Units (SI) have?EngineeringSince the SI redefinition voted in 2018, what defines the kilogram?

That's stuff everyone should know.