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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/sport-bernoulli-pressure

According to Bernoulli's principle, when air moves faster, its pressure does what?

Pressure drops as the air speeds up.

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  1. Rises
  2. Stays the same
  3. Drops ✔

Why: Faster-moving air has lower pressure. Air speeding over the curved top of a wing has lower pressure than the slower air below, and that pressure difference helps make lift.

Huh, didn't know that: A wing's upper surface is usually more curved than its lower surface.

The dad joke
My wing is calm under pressure. Actually, it just has less of it on top.
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References

Answer: Drops. Faster-moving air has lower pressure. Air speeding over the curved top of a wing has lower pressure than the slower air below, and that pressure difference helps make lift.

  1. NASA, Bernoulli's Principle www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bernoullis-principle-k-4-02-09-17-508.pdf
    as a fluid moves faster, it produces less pressure
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 4 www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/06_phak_ch4.pdf
    surface is more pronounced than that of the lower surface
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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