Chapter 20, Problem 37A

Before boarding an airplane, you buy a bag of chips (or any item sealed in an airtight foil package) and, while in flight, you notice that the bag is puffed up. Explain why this occurs.

To determine

To Explain: A bag of chips is puffed up during flight, within an airplane.

Answer to Problem 37A

It is due to the fact that pressure of surroundings of the packet is reduced at high altitude.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

At sea level, atmospheric pressure is greater than the atmospheric pressure at higher altitude. With increase of height from sea level, atmospheric pressure decreases.

The bag of the chips is sealed with an air pressure equal to the sea level air pressure within it. During the flight, altitude increases and pressure within the cabin of airplane decreases, hence the pressure of surroundings of the bag become less compared to the pressure inside it and the bag of chips puffs up due to higher pressure within it.