Boiling water at different altitudes. What boils faster lower or higher altitude?
Channel: Kids Fun Science
Date: 2021-07-08

Boiling water at different altitudes. What boils faster lower or higher altitude?
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Chapters
0:00 Kids Fun Science Intro
0:08 What you need
1:34 1st experiment lower altitude
3:16 boiling lower altitude time
3:42 Higher altitude 2nd experiment
4:45 boiling higher altitude time
5:28 final results

This was not an controlled environment test as I used different pots, and amount of water in each location. My results not being controlled still will show it takes longer to boil at higher altitudes. I was at a air bnb and could not take the pot home, but wanted to show the difference as it took so much longer to boil water. I will next time try this with a control environment. 

One of those circumstances is a change in altitude. At higher altitudes, air pressure is lower. There's simply less air pushing down on us the higher we ascend into the atmosphere. 

The boiling point of water: the temperature at which liquid water begins turning to vapor, which occurs when its vapor pressure equals the atmospheric pressure. At a higher elevation, the lower atmospheric pressure means heated water reaches its boiling point more quickly—i.e., at a lower temperature. Water at sea level boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit; at 5,000 feet above sea level, the boiling point is 203 degrees F (95 C). Up at 10,000 feet, water boils at 194 degrees F (84.4 C).

This is the opposite of what many people suppose: that water takes longer to boil on high. As we’ve just demonstrated, boiling water at altitude is quicker. But the fact that the boiling temperature is lower at higher elevations means food takes longer to cook, which is where the confusion lies. At 5,000 feet, where water boils almost 10 degrees cooler than at sea level, you need to roughly double the cooking time.

In terms of a rough boiling point elevation equation, subtract about one degree from the boiling temperature with each 500-foot increase in elevation.

How do high altitudes affect cooking?
At altitudes above 3,000 feet, preparation of food may require changes in time, temperature or recipe. The reason is the lower atmospheric pressure due to a thinner blanket of air above. At sea level, the air presses on a square inch of surface with 14.7 pounds pressure; at 5,000 feet with 12.3 pounds pressure; and at 10,000 feet with only 10.2 pounds pressure — a decrease of about 1/2 pound per 1,000 feet. This decreased pressure affects food preparation in two ways:

As atmospheric pressure decreases, water boils at lower temperatures. At sea level, water boils at 212 °F (100 C). With each 500-feet increase in elevation, the boiling point of water is lowered by just under 1 °F. At 7,500 feet, for example, water boils at about 198 °F (92.2 C). Because water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, foods that are prepared by boiling or simmering will cook at a lower temperature, and it will take longer to cook.