Question

A scuba diver that ascends to the surface too quickly can experience decompression sickness, which occurs when nitrogen that dissolves in the blood under high pressure, forms bubbles as the pressure decreases during the ascent. Therefore, an understanding of the gas laws is an important part of a scuba diver's training. In fresh water, the pressure increases by 1 atm every 34 ft below the water surface a diver descends.

If a diver ascends quickly to the surface from a depth of 102 ft without exhaling, by what factor will the volume of the diver's lungs change upon arrival at the surface?

Answer 1

The factor that will change the volume of the diver's lungs upon reaching the surface is 4

Step-by-step explanation:

Given data:

Pressure increases 1 atm = 101.325 kPa

34 ft = 10.3632 m

Depth of 102 ft = 31.0896 m

Question: What factor will the volume of the diver's lungs change upon arrival at the surface, V₂/V₁ = ?

The pressure at 31.0896 m:

`P_(1) =101.325+((31.0896)/(10.3632) *101.325)=405.3kPa`

The factor will the volume of the diver's lungs change upon arrival at the surface:

`(V_(2))/(V_(1) ) =(P_(1))/(P_(2)) =(405.3)/(101.325) =4`