Concluding Questions

Below are the concluding questions that students answered after completing all three problems in the Simulation scenario. Students could only answer one question at a time, and could not go back to a question after they confirmed their answer.

To answer these three questions, students were allowed to view the table shown below at any time. Note that in the Simulation interface students could sort the table by clicking on the column headings.

Payload mass (lbs.)	Amount of helium (cu. ft.)	Balloon volume (cu. ft.)	Time to final altitude (mins.)	Altitude (ft.)
10	700	700	0	0
10	800	800	0	0
10	910	910	0	2
10	975	3083	360	36211
10	1700	3083	60	36211
10	1875	3083	51	36211
10	2400	3083	34	36211
10	2515	3083	30	36211
10	2600	3083	27	36211
10	3083	3083	24	36211
50	700	700	0	0
50	800	800	0	0
50	910	910	0	0
50	975	975	0	0
50	1700	1700	0	2
50	1875	3083	112	22326
50	2400	3083	32	22326
50	2616	3083	28	22326
50	2800	3083	24	22326
50	3083	3083	20	22326
110	700	700	0	0
110	800	800	0	0
110	910	910	0	0
110	975	975	0	0
110	1700	1700	0	0
110	1875	1875	0	0
110	2400	2400	0	2
110	2616	3083	79	7918
110	2800	3083	48	7918
110	3083	3083	16	7918

1. The table now shows results for all possible experiments. Based on the data in the table, what is the highest altitude the balloon reached?

A. 10,000 feet

B. 36,211 feet

C. 2,275 feet

D. 3,063 feet

The correct answer is B, 36,211 feet.

2. How could you get the balloon you used in your experiments to go higher than 36,211 feet?

A. Put 3,083 cubic feet of helium inside the balloon with a 10 lb. payload mass.

B. Put less than 2,275 cubic feet of helium inside the balloon with a 10 lb. payload mass.

C. Use a payload greater than 110 lb. with 3,083 cu. ft. of helium inside the balloon.

D. Use a payload less than 10 lb. with 3,083 cu. ft. of helium inside the balloon.

The correct answer is D, use a payload less than 10 lb. with 3,083 cu. ft. of helium inside the balloon.

3. Notice that when the balloon carries a 10 lb. payload mass, it can only reach 36,211 feet. How could you get a helium balloon carrying a 10 lb. payload mass to go to an altitude higher than 36,211 feet?

A. Use a 10 lb. payload mass that is very small with a balloon that can hold 3,083 cu. ft. of helium.

B. Use a balloon that can hold 3,083 cu. ft. of helium, but allow to release helium into the air as it rises.

C. Use a balloon that can hold more than 3,083 cu. ft. of helium.

D. Use a balloon that can hold less than 3,083 cu. ft. of helium.

The correct answer is C, use a balloon that can hold more than 3,083 cu. ft. of helium.

Read the description of the Simulation scenario.

For more information, see the Technology-Rich Environments overview page.