What is the total mass of the Earth’s atmosphere? (The radius of the Earth is
6.37x106m, and atmospheric pressure at the surface is 1.013x105N/m2.)
To calculate the total mass of the Earth's atmosphere, we need to use the formula:
mass = pressure * area / gravity
First, we need to calculate the area of the Earth's surface:
area = 4 * π * radius^2
area = 4 * π * (6.37x10^6)^2
area = 5.12x10^14 m^2
Now, we can plug in the values:
mass = 1.013x10^5 N/m^2 * 5.12x10^14 m^2 / 9.81 m/s^2
mass = 5.26x10^19 kg
Therefore, the total mass of the Earth's atmosphere is approximately 5.26x10^19 kg.