Armstrong limit

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/armstrong-limit

1. How high is Armstrong limit?
2. What is the physiological phenomenon?
3. What is the time to unconsciousness?
4. Why would my blood boil at the Armstrong limit?
5. What happens if someone is above the Armstrong limit without a pressurized suit?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How high is Armstrong limit?Approximately 18-19 kilometers (11-12 miles) above sea level
2. What is the physiological phenomenon?Ebullism: vaporization of bodily fluids at body temperature
3. What is the time to unconsciousness?10-15 seconds without protection
4. Why would my blood boil at the Armstrong limit?Because the pressure is lower than the pressure needed to keep water liquid at body temperature, so the water in your blood turns into gas and makes your tissues swell.
5. What happens if someone is above the Armstrong limit without a pressurized suit?They would lose consciousness in about 10 to 15 seconds, then their body would suffer serious damage and could die within a minute or two if they are not brought back to higher pressure.

Ebullism: The formation of bubbles in body fluids due to low ambient pressure causing them to boil.
Vapor pressure: The pressure exerted by a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phases at a given temperature.
Aerospace medicine: The medical specialty concerned with the health and safety of humans in flight.
Pressurized cabin: An enclosed compartment in an aircraft or spacecraft that maintains a higher internal air pressure.