Question

A balloon filled with helium gas has a volume of 500 mL at a pressure of 1 atm. The balloon is released and reaches an altitude of 6.5 km, where the pressure is 0.5 atm. If the temperature has remained the same, what volume does the gas occupy at this height?

Answer 1

The volume of the gas will be 1 L at a height of 6.5 km.

Since temperature is constant, we can use Boyle’s Law.

p₁V₁ = p₂V₂

p₂ = p₁ × V₁/V₂ = 500 mL × (1 atm/0.5 atm) = 1000 mL = 1 L