Question Details

A spherical soap bubble inside an air chamber at pressure  P0 = 105 Pa has a certain radius so that the

excess pressure inside the bubble is ΔP = 144 Pa.  Now, the chamber pressure is reduced to  8P0 27  so that

the bubble radius and its excess pressure change. In this process, all the temperatures remain unchanged.

Assume air to be an ideal gas and the excess pressure ΔP in both the cases to be much smaller than

the chamber pressure. The new excess pressure  ΔP  in Pa is _____

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

96 Pa

Solution :

The correct answer is 96 Pa.

Step 1: Understand the initial and final states of the bubble.
Let the initial state of the soap bubble and chamber be defined by:
- Initial chamber pressure, P0=105 Pa
- Initial excess pressure, ΔP1=144 Pa
- Initial radius of the bubble, R1
- Surface tension of the soap bubble solution, S

For a spherical soap bubble with two surfaces, the excess pressure is given by:

ΔP=4SR

Thus, the initial excess pressure is:

ΔP1=4SR1=144 Pa

The total pressure inside the bubble initially is:

Pin,1=P0+ΔP1=P0+4SR1

Step 2: Define the final state parameters.
When the chamber pressure is reduced to P0'=827P0, let the new radius be R2 and the new excess pressure be ΔP2.
The new excess pressure is:

ΔP2=4SR2

The total pressure inside the bubble in the final state is:

Pin,2=P0'+ΔP2=827P0+4SR2

Step 3: Apply the Isothermal Ideal Gas Law.
Since the temperature remains constant throughout the process, the number of moles of air trapped inside the bubble is conserved. By Boyle's Law (PV=constant):

Pin,1V1=Pin,2V2

Substituting the volume of a sphere V=43πR3:

P0+4SR1·43πR13=827P0+4SR2·43πR23

Step 4: Use the given approximation.
We are given that the excess pressure in both cases is much smaller than the chamber pressure (ΔPP0).
Therefore, we can approximate:

P0+4SR1P0

and

827P0+4SR2827P0

Substituting these approximations back into the Boyle's law equation:

P0·R13=827P0·R23

Canceling P0 from both sides:

R13=827R23

Taking the cube root on both sides:

R1=23R2R2=32R1

Step 5: Calculate the new excess pressure.
Using the relation between excess pressure and radius:

ΔP2=4SR2=4S32R1=234SR1=23ΔP1

Substitute ΔP1=144 Pa:

ΔP2=23×144=96 Pa

Thus, the new excess pressure inside the bubble is 96 Pa.

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