Question

A table tennis ball was dented, and a student believed she could repair the dent in the ball by placing it in boiling water. After a few minutes, due to the higher temperature, the ball regained its original round shape. She also observed that when the dent was fixed, the gas inside the ball occupied more volume. What other change occurred in the gas as a result of this increase in volume?

A) The pressure of the gas in the table tennis ball decreased.
B) The density of the gas in the table tennis ball decreased.
C) The number of gas molecules in the table tennis ball increased.
D) The density of the gas in the table tennis ball increased.

Answer 1

When the table tennis ball regained its round shape after being placed in boiling water, the gas inside occupied more volume, which led to a decrease in gas pressure.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the table tennis ball was placed in boiling water and regained its original round shape, the gas inside the ball occupied more volume. This increase in volume would lead to a decrease in gas pressure. This is because according to Amontons's law, if the temperature increases and the volume is held constant, the increased speed of gas molecules results in more frequent and forceful collisions with the walls of the container, causing the pressure to increase. Similarly, if the volume increases while the temperature remains constant, as in this case, the average distances traveled by gas molecules to reach the container walls would increase, resulting in a decrease in the frequency of molecule-wall collisions and a decrease in pressure.