Gravity on Mars is 1/3 of that on earth. If Mars atmosphere is only 2 km thick, what is atmospheric pressure on Mars?
To calculate the atmospheric pressure on Mars, we need to know the height of the atmospheric column. In this case, you mentioned that the atmosphere on Mars is only 2 km thick.
Atmospheric pressure is directly related to the height of the atmosphere above a surface. The pressure decreases as we move higher in the atmosphere due to the decrease in the weight of the air above.
Given that the Martian gravity is 1/3 of Earth's, we can assume that the density of the Martian atmosphere is also roughly 1/3 of Earth's atmosphere. This is because the density is proportional to the atmospheric pressure.
To calculate the atmospheric pressure on Mars, we can use the following formula:
Pressure = Density * Gravity * Height
Let's substitute the values we have:
Pressure on Mars = (1/3 * Earth's atmospheric density) * (1/3 * Earth's gravity) * 2 km
Before we proceed, we need to convert 2 km into meters, as the SI unit for pressure is Pascal (Pa):
2 km = 2,000 meters
Now we can plug in the values and calculate the atmospheric pressure on Mars:
Pressure on Mars = (1/3 * Earth's atmospheric density) * (1/3 * Earth's gravity) * 2,000 meters
Note that the actual density and gravity values of Mars are more precise but providing approximations will give us an estimate.
Remember that the pressure unit is Pascal (Pa) or Newton per square meter (N/m^2).