Multiple choice

Directions: Read the given scenario carefully and answer the question that follows. Preeti fills up her plastic bottle with hot water, but then she puts it in the sink beneath cold running water. Suddenly the bottle contracts and gets mangled.

Which of the following options best describe what happened to the bottle?

  1. The heat of the boiling water changed its shape.

  2. The boiling water contains hot gases that react with the plastic.

  3. The change in temperatures causes it to get mangled.

  4. The air outside exerts pressure on the bottle.

  5. The cold air outside pushes the hot water inside.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Correct. As water is poured over the bottle, some steam in the bottle condenses into water, reducing the amount of air inside. The pressure of air inside the bottle decreases than the pressure exerted by the air from outside the bottle. As a result the bottle contracts and gets mangled, bottle gets compressed.This activity again confirms that the air outside exerts pressure on the bottle.

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