Science, Tech, Math › Science Converting Pascals to Atmospheres Example Worked Pa to atm Pressure Unit Conversion Problem Share Flipboard Email Print Pascals and atmospheres are units of pressure. Tetra Images - Jessica Peterson, Getty Images Science Chemistry Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Periodic Table Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Updated May 07, 2019 This example problem demonstrates how to convert the pressure units pascals (Pa) to atmospheres (atm). Pascal is a SI pressure unit that refers to newtons per square meter. Atmosphere originally was a unit related to the air pressure at sea level. It was later defined as 1.01325 x 105 Pa. Pa to Atm Problem The air pressure outside a cruising jet liner is approximately 2.3 x 104 Pa. What is this pressure in atmospheres?Solution:1 atm = 1.01325 x 105 PaSet up the conversion so the desired unit will be cancelled out. In this case, we want Pa to be the remaining unit.pressure in atm = (pressure in Pa) x (1 atm/1.01325 x 105 Pa)pressure in atm = (2.3 x 104/1.01325 x 105) Papressure in atm = 0.203 atmAnswer:The air pressure at cruising altitude is 0.203 atm. Check Your Work One quick check you should do to make sure your answer is reasonable is to compare the answer in atmospheres to the value in pascals. The atm value should be about 10,000 times smaller than the number in pascals.