The pressure exerted by a thrust is inversely proportional to the area of surface on which it acts. Larger the area on which a given thrust acts, lesser is the pressure exerted by it.
Example — A brick of weight 4 kgf having dimensions 20 cm x 10 cm x 5 cm, exerts maximum pressure on ground when it is placed with its longest side (20 cm) vertical, as shown in fig below, while it exerts minimum pressure when it is placed with it’s shortest side (5 cm) vertical, even though the thrust is same in each case.
