Question

If I were to fill a water bottle full of air and go up in elevation, would the water bottle expand or shrink? If I were to fill a water bottle full of air and go down in elevation, would the water bottle expand or shrink? I am at elevation 20000 I think.

Answer 1

If a water bottle full of air ascends, it expands due to lower atmospheric pressure, and if it descends, the air compresses and the bottle shrinks. These effects are explained by Boyle's Law and are influenced by variable elements like temperature according to Charles's Law, as seen with objects like vinegar-filled bottles and helium balloons.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you fill a water bottle full of air and go up in elevation, the air inside the bottle will expand due to lower atmospheric pressure. Conversely, if you go down in elevation, the increased pressure will cause the bottle to shrink. This behavior is explained by Boyle's Law, which states that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume when temperature is held constant.

Moreover, if a bottle is full of air (or any gas) and its temperature changes, its volume will change according to Charles's Law. This law states that if the pressure is constant, the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature. So, when a gas-filled container is warmed, the gas expands causing the bottle to potentially bloat or even burst if there's no space to accommodate the expansion, similar to when a vinegar-filled bottle is tightly capped and warms up. Likewise, when the bottle cools down, the volume of the gas decreases, and the bottle shrinks.

Charles's Law and High Altitudes

Regarding phenomena at high altitudes, for example, a helium-filled balloon lifting scientific equipment will expand as it rises through the atmosphere due to decreasing external pressure and possibly decreasing temperature, which can be further studied using the combined gas law to predict the balloon's behavior in different conditions.

Answer 2

a. It would shrink

b. It would expand

Step-by-step explanation:

a. Since the water bottle is filled with air at atmospheric pressure at 20000 ft, and since atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, when we go up in elevation.

The pressure exerted by the molecules of air in the water bottle seek to balance out the atmospheric pressure as we go higher. Since the atmospheric pressure exerted by the molecules of air in the atmosphere are greater than that exerted by the molecules of air in the water bottle, this causes the volume of the water bottle to decrease and thus shrinks the water bottle until the pressure balances out

b. Since the water bottle is filled with air at atmospheric pressure at 20000 ft, and since atmospheric pressure increases with decreasing altitude, when we go down in elevation.

The pressure exerted by the molecules of air in the water bottle seek to balance out the atmospheric pressure as we go lower. The water bottle expands until the atmospheric pressure outside equals the pressure inside the water bottle.this causes the volume of the water bottle to increase and thus expands the water bottle until the pressure balances out