How is air pressure near the ground or at sea level different from the air pressure in an elevator?

Question

Could someone please explain?

Answer 1

We're at the bottom of a sea of air.

It's like putting your hand in a bowl, and pouring rice on top of your hand. Your hand at the bottom has to bear all the weight of the the little rice thingys, above your hand.

Same way with air, air is made up of molecules, like rice. and gravity pulls them to earth, and the ones at the bottom have to bear all the weight of the ones above them.

If you live at the ocean, you have to bear the weight of, say, 10 miles of air above you. If you go to Mt. Everest (6 miles high?), you have to bear the weight of 4 miles of air above you.

Like wise, the air pressure is thicker "squished" at the bottom. So your ears pop when you change elevation, going up and down mountains, or elevators. Air has a lot of space between the molecules, so it gets squished like a sponge.