Question

What is the mass of a column of air 1 cm x 1 cm and 30 km high? What does it weigh

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The mass of a column of air can be calculated using the formula:

mass = density x volume

First, let's calculate the volume of the column of air:
volume = length x width x height
volume = 1 cm x 1 cm x 30 km

Converting the dimensions into meters (1 cm = 0.01 m, 30 km = 30,000 m):
volume = 0.01 m x 0.01 m x 30,000 m
volume = 3 cubic meters

Next, we need the density of air. At sea level and at 15 degrees Celsius, the density of air is approximately 1.225 kg/m^3.

Now, we can calculate the mass of the column of air:
mass = 1.225 kg/m^3 x 3 m
mass = 3.675 kg

To calculate the weight of the column of air, we need to consider the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.81 m/s^2.
weight = mass x acceleration due to gravity
weight = 3.675 kg x 9.81 m/s^2
weight = 36.00 N

Therefore, the mass of the column of air is 3.675 kg and it weighs approximately 36.00 Newtons.