At what altitude does a party ballon burst when released skyward?

Answer 1

It depends on the resistence of the rubber which the baloon is made of and of course on the altitude.

At a certain altitude When the atmospheric pressure starts decreasing, the pressure inside the baloon starts building up, causing it to swell and when the rubber of baloon cant bear the pressure inside, it bursts out.

Answer 2

That is going to depend on a lot of variables. So let's take a look at those interesting variables then answer the question.

What is the balloon filled with? Hydrogen? Helium? Something else?

How full is the balloon with the gas? Very full? Full enough? Barely full enough to float?

What kind of balloon is it? Latex? Mylar? Rubber? Soap?

What is the current weather? Hot? Cool? Stormy? Calm?

What altitude did the balloon start at? Sea Level? High in the mountains?

Now, knowing that there are all these very complex variables, we have to ask what it means to burst the balloon. For this question we will assume it means that the internal gas expands to a point that the balloon ruptures.

So we add it all up and come up with a few solutions:

A latex balloon will burst at a higher altitude because it can expand more that a Mylar balloon (latex seems to burst at about 10,000 feet when filled at sea level, Mylar at about 7,000 feet.)

Of course this will depend on a balance of how full the balloon is with a gas. Too full will burst the balloon lower, barely enough may not be enough to get the balloon to an altitude where the internal gas pressure can burst the balloon.

Also, cold day will allow the balloon to go higher (cold air is more dense, thus more lift.) Stormy weather could add pressures and prematurely pop the balloon.

So, there you have it... the balloon could pop at just about any altitude or not at all. The fact is there are too many variables to know for certain when it will burst.