If you place a balloon filled with air into a fridge, what will most likely happen to the volume of the balloon?

• A. The volume of the balloon will increase because the cold air expands inside the balloon.
• B. The volume of the balloon will decrease because the temperature drops, causing the air molecules to move slower and occupy less space.
• C. The volume of the balloon will remain unchanged because temperature does not affect the volume of gases.
• D. The volume of the balloon will decrease because the pressure inside the fridge is higher than outside.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall the Ideal Gas Law, which relates pressure (P), volume (V), temperature (T), and amount of gas (n) as \(P \times V = n \times R \times T\), where \(R\) is the gas constant.
2. Understand that when a balloon is placed in a fridge, the temperature \(T\) of the air inside the balloon decreases because the fridge is colder than room temperature.
3. Assuming the pressure inside the fridge remains approximately constant and the amount of gas inside the balloon does not change, the volume \(V\) of the balloon will adjust according to the change in temperature.
4. Since temperature and volume are directly proportional at constant pressure (Charles's Law), a decrease in temperature causes a decrease in volume, meaning the balloon will shrink.
5. Therefore, the air molecules inside the balloon move slower and occupy less space, leading to a smaller balloon volume.