Question

A factory at a low elevation ships bags of popcorn to cities at high elevations. Why does the factory manager need to monitor the amount of air in each bag?
Too few molecules can cause the bag to collapse and crush the popcorn as it moves from a low pressure to a high pressure.
Too many molecules can cause the bag to pop as it moves from a low pressure to a high pressure.
Too few molecules can cause the bag to collapse and crush the popcorn as it moves from a high pressure to a low pressure.
Too many molecules can cause the bag to pop as it moves from a high pressure to a low pressure.

Answer 1

Too many molecules can cause the bag to pop as it moves from a high pressure to a low pressure.

Explanation: the factory is at low elevation (higher ambient pressure) and the cities are at high elevation (lower ambient pressure). A sealed bag filled with too much air (too many moles) at the factory will have higher internal pressure than the lower external pressure at altitude, so the bag can expand and burst (ideal gas law: P = nRT/V). Monitoring the amount of air prevents overpressure at the destination.