Question

How many 3-liter balloons could the 12-L helium tank pressurized to 160 atm fill? Keep in mind that an "exhausted" helium tank is not empty. In other words, once the gas inside the tank reaches atmospheric pressure, it will no longer be able to fill balloons. Express the number of balloons to three significant figures.

Answer 1

Answer:

The 12L helium tank pressurized to 160 atm will fill 636 3-liter balloons

Explanation:

It is possible to answer this question using Boyle's law:

$P_1V_1=P_2V_2$

Where P₁ is the pressure of the tank (160atm), V₁ is the volume of the tank (12L), P₂ is the pressure of the balloons (1atm, atmospheric pressure) And V₂ is the volume this gas will occupy at 1 atm, thus:

160atm×12L = 1atm×V₂

V₂ = 1920L

As the tank will never be empty, the volume of the gas able to fill balloons is the total volume minus 12L, thus the volume of helium able to fill balloons is:

1920L - 12L = 1908L

1908L will fill:

1908L×$\frac{1balloon}{3L}$ = 636 balloons

I hope it helps!