Samonte, Elishae Dana J.

3B6

PHYSICS REFLECTION PAPER: UP

In Disney’s Pixar movie Up, it was shown how Carl Fredrickson used balloons to make his
house float in order to travel. Archimedes' principle, which states how the upward buoyant
force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially submerged, is
equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces can be applied to this particular scene.
The producer estimated around 112,000 balloons were used. The mass of an average house
ranges from 80,000 lbs - 160,000 lbs. Suppose that Mr. Carl's house weighs 100,000 lbs.
Knowing the value of the density of air and helium, we can calculate first for the buoyant force
in each balloon. Ignoring the weight of the strings and balloons, and also air temperature, the
volume of helium needed for the house to uproot may be obtained with the use of the house's
mass and the buoyant force calculated earlier. The diameter of a spherical balloon is normally
around 3 ft. Using this value, we can calculate for the volume of each balloon. Lastly, to be
able to know the amount of balloons needed to make the house float, the calculated amount of
helium needed may be used and divided by the volume of each balloon.

Sample computation:
Buoyant force = force weight displaced – force weight of object
Air = 0.078 lbs/ft