What is the purpose of dividing the height by 1000?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the conversion of height measurements in thermodynamics, specifically addressing why height is divided by 1000 in the context of pressure calculations. The division by 1000 is necessary to convert pressure from Pascals (Pa) to kilopascals (kPa), not to convert millimeters to meters, as the height has already been converted to meters. The clarity of the equation could be improved with proper parentheses to avoid confusion regarding the conversion process.

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Why is the height "/1000"?

Homework Statement



In the attached example problem, why did the height, originally in millimeters then converted to meters, be divided by 1000?

Note: This is a thermodynamics related question? Or at least from a thermo textbook.

I thought that the units were fine when using 0.750 m.
 

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The equation is poorly written, IMO. The /1000 at the end is to convert from Pa to kPa. It's not an attempt to convert mm to m, since they did that with the 750mm = 0.750m already. If they would have put parens around the whole numerator, that would have made it a bit clearer. Better yet, they should have used parens, and then multiplied by 1: 1 = 1kPa/1000Pa
 

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