h o m e w o r k1(assigned11399,duebeginningofclass12099)（h o m e w o r k1(assigned11399 duebeginningofclass12099)）（6页）.docVIP

Homework Assignment # 4 Solutions and Discussion 1. a) An airplane flies at 11 km altitude. Using a graph or a table from the book, determine the approximate pressure and the temperature of the atmosphere at that altitude. About 230 mb, -56(C. Some people tried to compute the values at 11 km using the approximations we gave you in class (8 mb / 100 m and -6.5(C/km), but these approximations are only valid near the surface and cannot be applied over a large altitude change. b) What should the pressure and the temperature be inside the airplane (flying at 11 km) for the passengers to be comfortable? Passengers would be most comfortable at sea level pressure (between 950-1050 mb) and room temperature (about 25(C or 70(F). Quite a few people put 15(C as a comfortable temperature, but I think this would actually be a little chilly (59(F). If air from outside of the airplane were brought to the pressure inside the passenger compartment adiabatically using an air compressor, would it be warmer than, colder than, or the same temperature as it was outside the airplane? Why? The air would be much warmer once it was compressed. The air compressor must do work on the air to decrease its volume. This work increases the internal kinetic energy of the molecules of air, hence the temperature of the air increases. We didnt ask you to determine HOW warm the air would be, but this is actually a pretty easy calculation. Recall that the dry adiabatic lapse rate is 10(C/km. If we lowered the air outside the airplane at 11 km to the surface adiabatically, we would expect it to warm by 110(C. Since we assumed our air compressor was adiabatic (and also assuming that there is no liquid water in the air around the airplane so the dry adiabatic lapse rate is appropriate), the temperature of the outside air compressed to 1000 mb would be -56(C + 110(C = 54(C, or 129(F! c) Why doesnt the temperature inside the airplane change when it descends to the surface? The fuselage of an airplane