A building code requires that a building be able to withstand a specific amount of wind pressure. The pressure P (in pounds per square foot) from wind blowing at s miles per hour is given by P = 0.00256s2.
(a) A structural engineer is designing a library. The building is required to withstand wind pressure of 20 pounds per square foot. Under this requirement, how fast must the wind blow to produce excessive stress on the building?
(b) To be safe, the engineer designs the library so that it can withstand wind pressure of 40 pounds per square foot. Does this mean that the library can survive wind blowing at twice the speed you found in part (a)? Justify your answer.
(c) Use the pressure formula to explain why even a relatively small increase in the wind speed could have potentially serious effects on a building?