; John Foxx/Getty Images; Lower pressure at higher altitudes causes the temperature to be colder on top of a mountain than at sea level.; ... You may also know that air pressure decreases as altitude increases. This table shows the pressure (in pounds per square inch) at different altitudes:
science.howstuffworks.com/question186.htm
Why is the air cooler at higher altitudes? Short answer; This vertical temperature trend is a consequence of 1) lower atmospheric pressure at higher altitude and 2) heating that takes place at the bottom of the troposphere rather than at the top. ... Since it’s colder at high altitude, you can often see clouds of ice in...
education.sdsc.edu/teachertech/downloads/climate_answ.p... education.sdsc.edu/teachertech/downloads/climate_answ.pdf
The air is colder at higher altitudes because there is less air. The lower atmosphere is more dense and therefore can hold more heat. The sun heats the earth and as the warm air rises it heats the atmosphere. As the air continues to rise the air becomes less dense, unable to hold the heat it has and so the rising air cools.
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060914030458AAab... answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060914030458AAabglR
The heat does rise, but warm air thins at it rises making it cooler, likewise air warms up as it descends as the air becomes more dense
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090727134...
Consider the way a refrigerator works: a gas (refrigerant) is compressed and it gets hot, this passes through the hot coils at the back of the fridge to cool down. The cool compressed gas is then allowed to expand suddenly through a nozzle ...
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_it_colder_at_high_alti...
> name Dana > status student > age 11 > Question - Why is it colder at the top of a mountain; when it is > closer to the >heat from the sun? Dear Dana- Your question about why temperatures on mountains aren't warmer, is a good one. ... At high altitudes, as on mountain tops, strong winds keep the air mixed,
www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/env99/env054.htm
Q: Does The Air Get Colder or Warmer at Higher Altitudes? A: It is reasonable to think that the air closer to the sun should be warmer. But it's not closeness to the sun that influences air temperature, it's absorption of its radiant energy by matter.
www.hcc.hawaii.edu/~rickb/SciColumns/ColdAir.07May95.ht... www.hcc.hawaii.edu/~rickb/SciColumns/ColdAir.07May95.html
Why is the air colder at a greater altitude? ... As warm air rises from the ground, it expands and cools, and the sum result is colder air at higher altitudes than at the surface.
www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/AirTemp.html
The air at the ground is at a higher pressure than air higher up; this is because the air at the ground is compressed by the weight of all the air above it. Air weighs quite a lot: A square column of air one meter ... it's the cold that makes it "steam" briefly when opened.) Reducing the pressure makes most gases colder.
www.mit.edu/people/goodmanj/madsci/904360107.Ph.r.html
I know it is colder at higher elevations (there is snow on the top of mountains when no snow is left on the bottom). When I was hiking this summer in Colorado and it started snowing I thought about why it was colder in higher elevations. ... Related: Why is the air cooler at higher altitudes? – Why is the Sky Blue?
engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2008/10/07/why-is-it-col... engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2008/10/07/why-is-it-colder-at-higher-elevations/