A newborn lacking sufficient surfactant would have alveoli with abnormally high:

1. Trace the consequence of the missing substance. 2. Type II alveolar cells secrete pulmonary surfactant. 3. Surfactant reduces the surface tension of the alveoli. 4. Without enough of it, that reduction does not happen. 5. So surface tension in the alveoli would be abnormally high. _Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 22 'The Respiratory System', sections 22.1-22.6_