How does air pressure change as altitude increases in the atmosphere?

The higher the altitude, the lower the atmospheric pressure. Lower pressure in turn causes water to evaporate more quickly, and water actually boils at a lower temperature. The percentage of oxygen in the air at two miles (3.2 km.) is the same as at sea level (21%). However, the air pressure is 30% lower at the higher altitude due to the fact that the atmosphere is less dense--that is, the air molecules are farther apart. The important effect of this decrease in pressure is this: in a given volume of air, there are fewer molecules present. This is really just another way of saying that the pressure is lower. This is called Boyle's law.

Pressure with Height: pressure decreases with increasing altitude. The pressure at any level in the atmosphere may be interpreted as the total weight of the air above a unit area at any elevation. At higher elevations, there are fewer air molecules above a given surface than a similar surface at lower levels.