This deep dive covers Atmospheric Pressure within Pressure for GCSE Physics. Revise Pressure in Forces for GCSE Physics with 15 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 4 of 16 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 4 of 16
Practice
15 questions
Recall
12 flashcards
🌬️ Atmospheric Pressure
The atmosphere is a layer of gas surrounding the Earth. All that gas has weight, and that weight pushes down on everything at the surface — this is atmospheric pressure.
- At sea level, atmospheric pressure is approximately 101,000 Pa (101 kPa)
- Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude — as you go higher, there is less air above you, so the weight of air pushing down is smaller
- This is why aircraft cabins are pressurised and why mountaineers can struggle to breathe at altitude
- At the top of Mount Everest (~8,800 m), atmospheric pressure is only about one-third of sea level pressure