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When an inflated balloon experiences a decrease in size, the air pressure inside the balloon remains nearly constant. If there is no transfer of energy by heat to or from the balloon, what physical change takes place in the balloon?

a) The temperature inside the balloon decreases.

b) The volume inside the balloon decreases.

c) The mass inside the balloon decreases.

d) The density inside the balloon increases.

User Rspeed
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The correct answer is that the temperature inside the balloon decreases when its size decreases and no heat energy is transferred, due to the close relationship between gas volume and temperature as per Charles's Law. Therefore, the correct answer is a) The temperature inside the balloon decreases.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an inflated balloon decreases in size and the air pressure inside remains nearly constant with no transfer of energy by heat, the change that takes place, according to Charles's Law, is that the temperature inside the balloon decreases.

This is because the volume of gas and its pressure are connected to the temperature of the gas. In the absence of heat transfer, a decrease in the balloon's volume would come from a decrease in the gas's temperature.

In this situation, the volume inside the balloon decreases and the density inside the balloon increases as the gas particles are forced closer together. However, the mass inside the balloon remains constant if no gas has been added or removed.

When an inflated balloon experiences a decrease in size without any transfer of energy by heat, the physical change that takes place in the balloon is a decrease in volume. This is due to Charles's Law, which states that when a gas is cooled, its volume decreases. In this case, as the air inside the balloon cools, the average kinetic energy of the gas particles decreases, causing the volume to shrink.

User Hari Krishna Ganji
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