What unit is atmospheric pressure measured in?

What unit is atmospheric pressure measured in?

• A. Inch of Mercury
• B. Pascal
• C. Bar
• D. Atmospheres

Answer: (A)

Atmospheric pressure is a pressure quantity, and in physics we use the SI unit pascal, defined as one newton per square meter. Inches of mercury is a traditional, practical unit from barometers that you still see in weather reports and aviation, but it isn’t the standard unit used for calculations in physics. Standard atmospheric pressure is about 101,325 pascals (1 atm ≈ 101.3 kPa). It’s also useful to know the related equivalents: 1 atm is about 760 mmHg or 29.92 inHg, and 1 bar equals 100,000 Pa. So, while inches of mercury appear in everyday measurements, the proper unit to express atmospheric pressure in physics is the pascal.

Atmospheric pressure is a pressure quantity, and in physics we use the SI unit pascal, defined as one newton per square meter. Inches of mercury is a traditional, practical unit from barometers that you still see in weather reports and aviation, but it isn’t the standard unit used for calculations in physics. Standard atmospheric pressure is about 101,325 pascals (1 atm ≈ 101.3 kPa). It’s also useful to know the related equivalents: 1 atm is about 760 mmHg or 29.92 inHg, and 1 bar equals 100,000 Pa. So, while inches of mercury appear in everyday measurements, the proper unit to express atmospheric pressure in physics is the pascal.