Final answer:
The work done in Joules when a balloon is inflated from 0.0100 L to 0.600 L against an external pressure of 10.00 atm is -598 J, which corresponds to option (B).
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the work done on the gas when a balloon is inflated, we use the work formula W = -PΔV, where P is the external pressure and ΔV is the change in volume.
The negative sign indicates that the gas is doing work on the surroundings when expanding.
According to the provided data, the external pressure P is 10.00 atm and the change in volume ΔV is 0.600 L - 0.0100 L = 0.590 L. Therefore,
W = -PΔV
W = -(10.00 atm)(0.590 L)
W = -5.90 L·atm
Using the conversion factor 1 L·atm = 101.3 J, we get:
W = -5.90 L·atm × 101.3 J/L·atm
W = -598 J
The work done in Joules when inflating the balloon is therefore -598 J, which corresponds to option (B).