becomes when you climb a mountain. The horizontal axis of the figure shows altitude, measured in meters

above sea level. The vertical axis measures the density of the air at each altitude. Air density is measured by

the weight of the air in a cubic meter of space (that is, a box measuring one meter in height, width, and depth).
508 A • The Use of Mathematics in Principles of Economics

As the graph shows, air pressure is heaviest at ground level and becomes lighter as you climb. Figure A4 shows

that a cubic meter of air at an altitude of 500 meters weighs approximately one kilogram (about 2.2 pounds).

However, as the altitude increases, air density decreases. A cubic meter of air at the top of Mount Everest, at

about 8,828 meters, would weigh only 0.023 kilograms. The thin air at high altitudes explains why many

mountain climbers need to use oxygen tanks as they reach the top of a mountain.
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