Final answer:
To calculate the acceleration of the helium balloon carrying two people each weighing 85 Kg, first calculate the balloon's volume, then find the buoyancy force using the given density of air, account for the total mass, and apply Newton's second law.
Step-by-step explanation:
The problem provided involves calculating the buoyancy force and the acceleration of a helium balloon when first released. The provided equation for buoyancy force is Fb = p-air * g * Vballoon, where p-air is the density of air, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and Vballoon is the volume of the balloon. Given a balloon diameter of 12 m, we can calculate its volume using the formula for the volume of a sphere (V = 4/3 * π * r^3) and then use this to find the buoyancy force since the density of air is given as p = 1.16 kg/m³.
We will then subtract the weight of the passengers (2 * 85 kg) from the buoyancy force to calculate the net force on the balloon. The acceleration can then be found using Newton’s second law (F = ma) by dividing the net force by the total mass (mass of helium in the balloon plus the mass of the two passengers).