Page 1 of 2
EXPONENTIAL AND
LOGARITHMIC
FUNCTIONS
How does altitude affect the air?
462
Page 1 of 2
CHAPTER
8
APPLICATION: Mountain Climbing
A surprising
fact that you may
not know is that air has weight!
The weight of the air above you
produces what scientists call
atmospheric pressure.
Mountain climbers need to be
aware of changes in atmospheric
pressure because as the pressure
decreases, so does the amount of
oxygen they have to breathe.
Think & Discuss
The graph below shows the relationship between
atmospheric pressure and altitude.
Variation of Atmospheric
Pressure with Altitude
Pressure
(lb/in.2)
y
8
4
0
0
10 20 30 40 50 x
Altitude (thousands of feet)
1. Describe what happens to the atmospheric pressure
as the altitude increases.
2. Mount McKinley in Alaska is 20,320 feet high.
Estimate the atmospheric pressure at its peak.
Learn More About It
INT
You will find the atmospheric pressure at the peak of
Mount Everest in Exercise 79 on p. 484.
NE
ER T
APPLICATION LINK Visit www.mcdougallittell.com
for more information about atmospheric pressure.
463