Question

A little boy has placed his pet squirrel into a balloon with a volume of 3L at a pressure of 1.0 atm. If the boy takes his pet squirrel scuba diving at a depth of 33 meters, where the pressure is 3.5 atm, how big will the squirrel's balloon be?

Answer 1

Answer: The squirrel's balloon will be 0.86 L

Explanation:

To calculate the new volume, we use the equation given by Boyle's law. This law states that pressure is directly proportional to the volume of the gas at constant temperature.

The equation given by this law is:

$P_1V_1=P_2V_2$

where,

$P_1\text{ and }V_1$ are initial pressure and volume.

$P_2\text{ and }V_2$ are final pressure and volume.

We are given:

$P_1=1.0atm\\V_1=3L\\P_2=3.5atm\\V_2=?$

Putting values in above equation, we get:

$1.0\times 3L=3.5\times V_2\\\\V_2=0.86$

Thus the squirrel's balloon will be 0.86 L