Question

0.2 kg of helium is constrained within one portion of an insulated container,such that it fills a volume of only 2.6 m³. A barrier divides the helium from the rest of the container, which is completely evacuated. For some unknown reason, the barrier ruptures. As a result, the helium expands to fill the entire container. The temperature of the helium remains a constant 330 K before, during, and after the expansion. If the specific volume of the helium increases by a factor of 1.5 during the expansion, what is the final pressure of the helium in kPa ?

Answer 1

The final pressure of helium after expanding in an insulated container can be determined using the ideal gas law, with the final pressure being the initial pressure divided by the expansion factor of the specific volume.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves understanding the behavior of helium gas after it expands due to a broken barrier in an insulated container. Using the ideal gas law, we can determine that the ratio of the initial and final pressures will be the inverse of the ratio of initial and final volumes, since the amount of gas and its temperature are constant. Given that the specific volume of the helium increases by a factor of 1.5 during the expansion, and assuming the initial pressure P1 is atmospheric pressure (101.325 kPa), the final pressure P2 will be P1 divided by 1.5.