Question

Place three mini marshmallows in a syringe, push the plunger down just until it touches the top of the marshmallows, and then form a seal by putting your finger over the tip of the syringe. When you pull up on the plunger, what happens to the marshmallows? What is being decreased inside the syringe? What is being increased?

a) The marshmallows compress; air pressure decreases, volume increases.
b) The marshmallows expand; air pressure increases, volume decreases.
c) The marshmallows dissolve; air pressure increases, volume remains the same.
d) The marshmallows disintegrate; air pressure decreases, volume decreases.

Answer 1

When you pull up on the plunger of the syringe, the marshmallows inside will expand due to the increase in volume and decrease in air pressure.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you pull up on the plunger of the syringe, the volume inside the syringe increases, causing the pressure inside the syringe to decrease. As a result, the mini marshmallows in the syringe will expand. This is because the decrease in pressure allows the air inside the syringe to expand and push against the marshmallows, causing them to inflate.

In this experiment, the volume inside the syringe is being increased and the air pressure is being decreased.

The correct answer is option a) The marshmallows compress; air pressure decreases, volume increases.