Final answer:
As a weather balloon ascends, the pressure inside increases due to heated air expanding, while the external atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, causing the balloon to expand and potentially burst.
Step-by-step explanation:
Explanation of Balloon Pressure Dynamics
As a weather balloon rises, there are two major physical principles at play regarding the pressure inside and outside the balloon. Inside the balloon, the pressure is initially increased by heating the air, which causes air molecules to move faster and exert more force on the balloon's inner walls, resulting in higher pressure.
This is in accordance with Charles's Law, which states that gas volume increases with temperature, thereby decreasing density and creating buoyant force that makes the balloon rise. Outside the balloon, the atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude due to the thinning of air. This is explained by Boyle's Law, which establishes that the pressure of a gas decreases as its volume increases when a balloon expands in the lower external pressure environment.
Therefore, the pressure inside the balloon initially is greater than the pressure outside. However, as the balloon ascends and the external pressure decreases, the balloon expands, and internal pressure can drop. Eventually, the decrease in external pressure and expansion of the balloon may lead to the balloon bursting as its material can no longer contain the internal pressure difference.