Thinking Like an Engineer

Stephan, Bowman, Park, Sill, Ohland

Copyright 2013 Pearson Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Universal Units Thinking Like an Engineer 2e 1
Gas Pressure
Ideal Gas Law
An ideal gas occupies 22.4 L under standard
conditions.
Pressure 1 atm = 101,325 Pa
Temperature 273 K
Amount 1 mole

Conditions related by:

Ideal gas constant, R:
Takes on value of unit system used
Two common values listed
Universal Units Thinking Like an Engineer 2e 2
Temperature MUST be in
ABSOLUTE units at all
times!
T R n V P
K mol
L Pa 8314
R
K mol
L atm 0.08206
R
=
=
Example Units e-15
An amount of 0.5 moles of chlorine (Cl2) is placed in
a 5 liter container.
The pressure gauge on the container reads 2.5
atmospheres.
What is the temperature in units of kelvin in the
container?
P V = n R T or T = (P V) / (n R)




Answer: T = 305 K

Universal Units Thinking Like an Engineer 2e 3
( )( )
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =
K mol
L atm
0.08206 mol 0.5
L 5 atm 2.5
R n
V P
T
Example Units e-16
A 5 liter container holds 0.5 moles of chlorine (Cl
2
).
The pressure gauge on the container reads 2.5
atmospheres.
If another 0.5 moles of chlorine is added to the
container and the temperature is held constant,
what will happen to the pressure in the container?
(A) Increase
(B) Decrease
(C) Stay the same

Answer: A = Increase
Universal Units Thinking Like an Engineer 2e 4
What is expected of you
Describe the Ideal Gas Law
Given three of the four
following quantities, be able to
determine the final quantity:
Amount
Pressure
Temperature
Volume
Recall the common values for
ideal gas constant

T R n V P =
Universal Units Thinking Like an Engineer 2e 5