# Am I correctly calculating the density altitude?

I came across the following question while studying for the FAA PPL written test:

Determine the density altitude for these conditions:

Altimeter setting: 30.35
Runway temperature: +25°F
Airport elevation: 3,894 ft. MSL

I performed the following steps:

Temperature (°C) $\color{red}{= 5/9 × 25} = 14$

Pressure altitude (PA) $= 3,894 + (29.92-30.35) × 930 = 3494$

Density altitude (DA) $= \text{PA} + 120(14 - 15 + .002×\text{PA}) = 4200$

Yet that answer is not listed, and according to the DA/PA graph provided, DA is 2000ft.

My final formula seems to be correct according to Wikipedia, plus it also matches my intuition of how PA works: According to the question we have 14°C at 4000ft, as opposed to the expected 7°C at 4000ft; seeing as temperature is higher, DA should be higher than PA.

Where am I going wrong?

• Why are you using 930 instead of 1,000 in you calculation of Pressure altitude? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_altitude. Also, where did the second PA term in the DA formula come from? Not something I use. You might want to check out flyingmag.com/technique/tip-week/… – JScarry Jul 23 '17 at 23:56
• @JScarry: 930ft/inHg is the correct factor at about 29.92 — 28.92 inHg; for higher altitudes it increases; thank you for bringing that to my attention, I'll probably use 1000 from now on. The $.002×\text{PA}$ is to correct for lapse rate. – Zaz Jul 24 '17 at 1:37

• Yep, I suspected I'd goofed up with something as stupid as a conversion error. I'd answered several questions about change of density altitude with change of temperature, where you can forget the $-32$, and am embarrassed to say I went and did the same thing here. – Zaz Jul 21 '17 at 2:24