The Gas Laws

Boyle’s Law 11.2

Boyle’s Law
 Pressure – Volume relationship
 The volume of a fixed mass of gas varies
inversely with the pressure at constant
temperature.
 Boyle’s law

If we reduce the volume of the container by half, but still have the same number of molecules, then
the number of molecules per unit volume doubles.
If we have more molecules per unit volume then we will have more collisions within a given area of
the walls, which will cause the pressure to increase.
Boyle’s Law
Boyle’s Law
 Mathematically expressed as
 V = k (1/P) or PV = k
 Can be used to compare changing conditions
of a gas at constant temperature.
 P 1V 1 = P 2V 2
Example problem
A sample of oxygen gas has a volume of 150.
mL when its pressure is 0.947 atm. What will
the volume be at a pressure of 0.987 atm if
the temperature remains constant?
Example problem 2
A balloon filled with helium gas has a volume of
500 mL at a pressure of 1 atm. The balloon is
released and reaches an altitude of 6.5 km,
where the pressure is 0.5 atm. If the
temperature has remained the same, what
volume does the gas occupy at this height?
Example problem 3
The piston of an internal combustion engine
compresses 450. mL of gas. The final
pressure is 15 times greater than the initial
pressure. What is the final volume of the
gas, assuming constant temperature?