Meteorologists use weather balloons to carry weather instruments high into the atmosphere. When it is first released at Earth’s
surface, a weather balloon typically appears underinflated. What happens to the balloon’s volume as it rises into the atmosphere? Explain your answer in terms of pressure.
<span>The balloons volume as it
rises increases because at higher altitude external pressure is lower, so the
air molecules inside the balloons tends to expand more to attain mechanical
equilibrium, where the external pressure and internal pressure are equal. Unlike
when the balloon is on the ground, external pressure is great so the gas
molecule cannot push the walls of the balloon so it is like underinflated.</span>
As the balloon’s altitude increases, its volume also increases.
At high altitude, the atmospheric pressure on the outside of the balloon is less that it is at Earth’s surface.
As the pressure on the outside of the balloon decreases, the balloon’s volume increases because the pressure inside the balloon pushes the balloon outward.
As the balloon’s volume increases, the pressure inside the balloon decreases until it is equal to the pressure on the outside of the balloon.
They have the same density because a material, no matter how much of it there is, will always be a certain density. A 40g ball of iron has the same density as a 1g ball of iron.
