Atmospheric pressure (measured in atm) decreases by 11.5% for every 1000-meter increase in elevation. At sea level the atmospheric pressure is 1 atm. What is the atmospheric pressure at 8000 meters above sea level (rounded to the nearest thousandth)?
A) 0.376
B) 0.115
C) 0.985
D) 0.885
E) 0.998

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The atmospheric pressure decreases by 11.5% for every 1000 meters. At 8000 meters, this decrease would have occurred 8 times. The pressure at each step can be calculated by multiplying the current pressure by (1 - 0.115). Starting with 1 atm at sea level, the calculation for 8000 meters is: 1 * (1 - 0.115)^8 ≈ 0.376 atm.

Atmospheric Pressure (Measured in Atm) Decreases by 11