PRESSURE, DENSITY AND MIXING RATIO

COMPOSITION OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

BY: REGINE CLARISSE DIPASUPIL | CHE191-B04
Atmospheric Pressure
•“Air has weight”
•The pressure exerted by a column of air from the
top of the atmosphere to the surface of Earth.
•The pressure caused by the weight of a column of
fresh water of approximately 10.3 m (33.8 ft).
• About 1 atmosphere or a little less at sea level.
The Atmospheric
Pressure:
• It is defined as weight of air per
unit surface area of earth
• It decreases with increase in
elevation w.r.t. surface of earth
• Standard atmospheric pressure
at mean-sea-level (15 C):
• 101.3 KN/m2
• 1.013 bar
• 14.7 psi
• 760 mm Hg
• 33.9 ft of water
• 10.3 m of water
Torricelli Experiment
• Invented in Pisa in 1643 by the Italian scientist Evangelista
Torricelli (1608-1647).
• Uses a simple barometer to measure the pressure of air, filling it
with mercury up until 75% of the tube.
• Torricelli concluded that the mercury fluid in the tube is aided by
the atmospheric pressure that is present on the surface of mercury
fluid on the dish. He also stated that the changes of liquid level from
day to day are caused by the variation of atmospheric pressure. The
empty space in the tube is called the Torricellian vacuum.
.
Density in Atmosphere
• Changes with variation in
atmospheric pressure, temperature,
and humidity
• At standard conditions (1 atm, 15 C):
air has a density of approximately
1.225 kg/m3 according to ISA
(International Standard Atmosphere)
Density is not measured directly but is
calculated from measurements of
temperature, pressure and humidity
using the equation of state for air (a
form of the ideal gas law).
Atmospheric density decreases as the
altitude increases.
Mixing Ratio
• The abundance of one component of a mixture relative
to that of all other components.
• The mixing ratio CX of a gas X (equivalently called
the mole fraction) is defined as the number of moles of
X per mole of air. It is given in units of mol/mol.
• The most abundant is molecular nitrogen (N2) with a
mixing ratio CN2 = 0.78 mol/mol; N2 accounts for 78%
of all molecules in the atmosphere. Next in abundance
are molecular oxygen (O2) with CO2 = 0.21 mol/mol,
and argon (Ar) with CAr = 0.0093 mol/mol
Mixing Ratio
• Gases other than N2, O2, Ar, and H2O are
present in the atmosphere at extremely low
concentrations and are called trace gases.
• Despite their low concentrations, these trace
gases can be of critical importance for the
greenhouse effect, the ozone layer, smog,
and other environmental issues.
• Mixing ratios of trace gases are commonly
given in units of parts per million volume
( ppmv or simply ppm)