Your lungs draw air in by expanding the chest and thus creating a pressure diffe

Question

Your lungs draw air in by expanding the chest and thus creating a pressure differential between the lungs and the outside. You can measure the maximum pressure differential of your lungs by submerging yourself in water and finding the maximum depth at which you can breath through a snorkel tube. The dry version of this experiment is to draw a column of water up a tube using your lungs. Find the maximum pressure difference, in atmospheres, of your lungs using the tube and water reservoir. (Be sure to use only your lungs, not the pump action of your mouth.)

Water level in tube after blowing : 128 cm

Explanation / Answer

atmosphere pressure = 10^5 pa

since 128 cm of water is drawn

let P be pressure in lungs

we have

P + 1.28 x9.8 x 1000 = 10^5

P = 87456 Pa

P = 0.87456 atm

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