SOLUTION CHEMISTRY

Question

The world record for lowest pressure (at sea level) was 652.5 mmHg recorded inside Typhoon Tip on October 12, 1979, in the Western Pacific Ocean.

 

Express your answer using four significant figures below:

 

P=........ torr

P=........ atm

P=........ in Hg

p=........ psi

Answer 1

To answer these, we need to know the relationships between each pair of units. This may have been given by your teacher or could be looked up:

 

1 torr = 1 mm Hg

1 atm = 760 mm Hg

1 psi = 51.7149 mm Hg

 

From there, we use each as a conversion factor and multiply by our starting value, making sure that the proper units cancel out and rounding to four sig figs :

 

652.5 mm Hg x (1 torr/1 mm Hg) = 652.5 torr

 

652.5 mm Hg x (1 atm/760 torr) = 0.8586 atm

 

652.5 mm Hg x (1 psi/51.7149) = 12.62 psi