[Physics] Does the amount of oxygen in air, actually get lower as you go to higher altitudes

airatmospheric sciencedensitypressurethermodynamics

I have heard that there is less oxygen as you go higher (that's what my teacher told me). A reason that supports that is, as you go to higher altitudes, it becomes more and more difficult to breathe. But, I also read on the internet, that the amount of oxygen remains same but the air pressure drops, making it difficult for us to breathe. Which one is correct? Why?

Best Answer

For elevations less than about 100 km (for reference, the peak of Mt. Everest is about 8.8 km above sea level), the relative concentration of oxygen in the air is fairly constant at about 21%.

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It's true that there's less oxygen (more specifically,the partial pressure of oxygen is lower) with increasing altitude - and this is simply because there is less gas overall.

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The reason it's difficult to breathe at higher altitudes is that the ability of your lungs to oxygenate your blood depends on the partial pressure of O$_2$ in your lungs when you take a breath. At sea level and under ordinary conditions, the partial pressure of O$_2$ in your lungs is approximately $21\% \times 100\ \mathrm{kPa} \approx 21\ \mathrm{kPa}$. This defines normal, at least in a limited sense. If you're breathing pure oxygen, then you could potentially have an O$_2$ partial pressure of $100\ \mathrm{kPa}$, which can help compensate for damage to the lungs (e.g. from scarring) which reduces their ability to oxygenate blood - though as user Arsenal points out in a comment, under ordinary circumstances this would induce hyperoxia, which is bad news.

On the other hand, at the top of Mt. Everest the partial pressure in your lungs would drop to approximately $21\% \times 30\ \mathrm{kPa} \approx 6\ \mathrm{kPa}$ - nowhere near enough to sustain for extended periods, especially under increased physical stress. Breathing pure oxygen from a tank boosts this number to closer to $30\ \mathrm{kPa}$, which is why most climbers take their own oxygen with them.

However, above an altitude of 12 km (roughly the altitude at which commercial airliners fly) the pressure drops below $20\ \mathrm{kPa}$, which means that even breathing pure oxygen won't give you the normal required partial pressure of O$_2$, and you will risk hypoxia. That is why planes which fly above this altitude have positive-pressure respirators for pilots in case of emergency. Rather than being simply a higher concentration of oxygen, the gas in a positive-pressure respirator is (as the name suggests) actively pressurized above the ambient atmospheric pressure to force the required amount of oxygen into your lungs. See e.g. page 4 of this booklet from the US FAA and the associated regulations.