A balloon is taken to a mountain top and inflated with helium to a volume of 5.0 L. The balloon is then released and rises to an altitude where the helium has a new volume of 25.0 L and a pressure of 0.18 atm.

Which of the statements below is correct?

A. At the new altitude, the pressure inside the balloon is greater than the pressure outside.

B. At the new altitude, the pressure outside the balloon is greater than the pressure inside.

C. At the mountain top, the pressure inside the balloon is lower than at the new altitude.

D. At the mountain top, the pressure inside and outside the balloon is the same.

What was the pressure inside the balloon before it was released from the mountain top?

A. 0.18 atm

B. atm

C. 1.00 atm

D. 1.11 atm

C. At the mountain top, the pressure inside the balloon is lower than at the new altitude.

Explanation:

The gas laws will come handy in predicting pressure, volume and temperature relationships of a given amount of gas.

Given parameters:

Volume at mountaintop = 5.0L

New volume at altitude = 25.0L

New pressure at altitude = 0.18atm

Pressure at mountaintop = ?

Here we are dealing with pressure and volume relationships between two given gases. The best law that gives a good prediction of what happen is the Boyle's law.

The law states that "the volume of a fixed mass (mole) of a gas varies inversely as the pressure changes, if the temperature is constant".

Mathematically;

P₁V₁ = P₂V₂

P₁ is the pressure at mountaintop

P₂ is the pressure at new altitude

V₁ is the volume at mountaintop

V₂ is the volume at new altitude.

From the definition of Boyle's law, we can clearly conclude that at the new altitude, the gas expands due to low pressure and will attain a new volume.

The pressure at mountaintop;

P₁ x 5 = 25 x 0.18

P₁ = 0.9atm

We can clearly see that at the mountaintop, the balloon has a higher pressure that confines the helium gas inside the balloon to a lower space.

An inverse relationship thus exists between volume and pressure