What happens to the size of the balloon as the temperature decreases?
The correct answer and explanation is:
Answer:
As the temperature decreases, the size of the balloon decreases (the balloon shrinks).
Explanation:
The size of a balloon is largely determined by the pressure and volume of the gas inside it, which are directly influenced by temperature. According to the Gas Laws, specifically Charles’s Law, the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature when pressure is constant. This means if the temperature drops, the volume of the gas inside the balloon will also decrease.
When a balloon is in a warm environment, the gas molecules inside move faster because they have more kinetic energy. This causes the gas to expand and push against the inside walls of the balloon, making it larger. However, when the temperature decreases, the gas molecules lose energy and move more slowly. As a result, they take up less space and exert less pressure on the balloon’s inner walls, causing the balloon to contract or shrink.
This phenomenon can be observed if you take a balloon from a warm room and place it in a cold environment, such as a freezer or outside on a cold day. The balloon visibly shrinks because the gas volume inside reduces due to the lower temperature.
This effect is also explained by the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT), where P is pressure, V is volume, n is the number of moles of gas, R is the gas constant, and T is the absolute temperature (in Kelvin). If the pressure (P) and amount of gas (n) remain constant, volume (V) is proportional to temperature (T). Lower temperature leads to smaller volume.
In summary, as temperature decreases, gas molecules slow down and the volume of the gas decreases, causing the balloon to shrink. This explains why balloons get smaller in colder conditions and larger in warmer conditions.