Question

A NASA spacecraft measures the rate R at which atmospheric pressure on Mars decreases with altitude. The result at a certain altitude is: R = 0.0151 kPa * km^-1. Convert R to J * cm^-4.

Answer 1

To convert the rate R from kPa * km^-1 to J * cm^-4, multiply R by the appropriate conversion factors: 1000 Pa/kPa, 1000 m/km, 1 J/1 Pa * m^3, and 100 cm/m. The resulting value is 1,510,000 J * cm^-4.

Step-by-step explanation:

To convert the rate R from kPa * km^-1 to J * cm^-4, we need to use the following conversions:

1 kPa = 1000 Pa

1 km = 1000 m

1 J = 1 Pa * m^3

1 cm = 0.01 m

1 cm^4 = 0.01^4 m^4 = 0.00000001 m^4

So, to convert R to J * cm^-4, we need to multiply R by the conversion factors:

1. Convert kPa to Pa: 0.0151 kPa * 1000 Pa/kPa = 15.1 Pa/km
2. Convert km to m: 15.1 Pa/km * 1000 m/km = 15100 Pa/m
3. Convert Pa to J: 15100 Pa/m * 1 J/1 Pa * m^3 = 15100 J/m^4
4. Convert m to cm: 15100 J/m^4 * 100 cm/m = 1,510,000 J/cm^4
5. Convert J/cm^4 to J * cm^-4: 1,510,000 J/cm^4 * 1 cm^-4/1 cm^4 = 1,510,000 J * cm^-4

So, the rate R = 0.0151 kPa * km^-1 is equivalent to 1,510,000 J * cm^-4.