MEGA Elementary Education Multi-Content Practice Test

What will happen to a sealed bottle of air placed in an ice bath?

1. pressure will increase and mass will decrease

2. pressure will increase and mass will remain constant

3. pressure will decrease and mass will decrease

4. pressure will decrease and mass will remain constant

The correct answer is: pressure will decrease and mass will remain constant

When a sealed bottle of air is placed in an ice bath, the temperature of the gas inside the bottle decreases. According to the gas laws, specifically Boyle's Law and Charles's Law, when the temperature of a gas decreases while the volume remains constant (as it does in a sealed bottle), the pressure exerted by the gas also decreases. This is because gas molecules move more slowly at lower temperatures, leading to fewer collisions with the walls of the container, which in turn results in lower pressure. On the other hand, the mass of the air inside the sealed bottle does not change because the gas is contained; mass is unchanged because it is a closed system. Therefore, the correct outcome is that the pressure decreases while the mass remains constant.