High School

A balloon containing 1.50 moles of neon gas has a volume of 8.00 liters. If a leak allows one-half of the neon atoms to escape, what is the final volume of the balloon?

A. 4.00 liters
B. 6.00 liters
C. 8.00 liters
D. 12.00 liters

Answer :

When half of the neon gas in a balloon escapes, while temperature and pressure remain constant, the final volume of the balloon will be half of its initial volume, which in this case is 4.00 liters.

Therefore, the correct option is a.

The question asks about the final volume of a neon gas balloon when half of the gas has leaked out. Given that the initial volume of the balloon is 8.00 liters and it contains 1.50 moles of neon gas, after one-half of the neon atoms escape, we assume that the temperature and pressure remain constant. According to Avogadro's law, the volume of gas is directly proportional to the amount in moles, provided temperature and pressure are held constant.

Therefore, if half of the amount of gas escapes, the final volume will be half of the initial volume because the remaining gas will spread out to fill the balloon, but the size of the balloon won't change as it's flexible enough to collapse a bit. Thus, the final volume will be 4.00 liters.

The answer to the student's question is option a) 4.00 liters.