Basic Gas Laws Learning Outcome When you complete this module you will be able to Perform calculations involving the behavior of ideal gases in a closed system according to Boyle's and Charles’ Laws, the Combined Gas Law and the Characteristic Gas Law. Learning Objectives Here is what you will be able to do when you complete each objective, 1 2 3. Differentiate between ideal and non-ideal gases, Apply Boyle's Law to an ideal gas in a closed system. Apply Charles’ Laws to an ideal gas in a closed system. Apply the Combined or General Gas Law to an ideal gas in a closed system. Determine the characteristic gas constant for an ideal gas and apply the Characteristic Gas Law to an ideal gas in a closed system. aeLearning Material Fluids, Liquids, Vapours and Gases Before entering into a discussion of the behavior of gases, a brief review of a few facts and definitions is appropriate. The term “fluids” refers to both the liquid and the gaseous phases of a substance. Both will readily flow and can be moved by pumps or compressors through piping systems, A liquid forms a free surface in its container and will assume the shape of the container. A liquid cannot be compressed or expanded to a significant degree. A ges will completely fill the volume of its container and can be very significantly compressed or expanded, . ‘Vapour is.a sub-category of the gaseous phase. and can be defined as.a gas-not far removed, in terms of its temperature, from the liquid phase. As the temperature of a gaseous fluid is increased above the temperature at which it may be liquified, its behaviour becomes quite predictable by the use of ideal gas laws, the subject of this module. Vapours, on the other hand, do not behave according to these laws and modifications to the laws discussed here, or the use of tables, are required to predict their behavior. ‘The critical temperature of a substance is the temperature above which the substance cannot be liquefied, repardless of what pressure is applied to it. Some textbooks define a vapour as the sub-category of the gascous phase where the temperature is below the critical temperature. Examples of substances which are normally referred to as gases and their critical temperatures are listed in Table 1. [Substance cial Temperate) Air 141 | Hetum “268 | Hydrogen 240 | | Nitrogen “47 | Oxygen 9 Table 1 Critical TemperaturesCritical Temperatures Ascan be seen in Table 1, these commion gases are usually at a temperature far above their critical temperatures, Therefore, they behave predictably according to | ideal gas laws. By definition, an ideal, or perfect, gas is one that obeys the ideal gas laws, Boyle’s Law A physicist, Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691) investigated the behavior of gases at constant temperature, and established the ideal gas law that bears his name, Boyle's Law states: The absolute pressure of a fixed mass of a perfect gas varies inversely as its volume, if the temperature remains constant. In formula form: Pol Vv o (PY = CY or PW) = PaVa where: P) is initial absolute pressure P2_ is final absolute pressure Vis initial volume Vz is final volume C_ isaconstant Example 1: Two cubic metres of an ideal ges, at a pressure of 100 kPa, are contained in a gas tight cylinder with a movable piston, Calculate the pressure if the volume is changed to: (a) 1.5m? (b) 1.0m? (©) 05m