You are seated at a table in a Paris Café, contemplating life and watching the bubbles rise upward in your glass of carbonated water. You can think of many physical reasons why those carbon dioxide bubbles should rise upward through the water. Which of the follow observations is not true and therefore does not help explain why the bubbles rise in your Perrier?
A) A bubble displaces more than its weight of water.
B) The pressure below a bubble is greater than the pressure above it.
C) The pressure inside a bubble is much less than the pressure in the water around it.
D) A bubble's average density is less than that of water.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The pressure inside a bubble is actually greater than the pressure in the surrounding water, not less. This is due to the surface tension of the bubble creating an internal pressure that is higher than the external pressure. Options A, B, and D are true and contribute to the reason why bubbles rise in water.

You Are Seated at a Table in a Paris Café