Boyle’s law

Boyle’s Law is a special case of the Ideal Gas Law in which the pressure and
volume of an ideal gas are inversely proportional to each other, providing the
temperature and mass of the gas are held constant. Here’s an example of how to
perform a calculation using Boyle’s Law.
Boyle’s Law Review
Pressure P and Volume V are inversely proportional when Temperature T and
mass n are held constant:
P ∝ 1/V
where V changes by a factor of z
Pfinal = 1/z x Vinitial
Example Problem
For example, calculate the final volume of a gas if the pressure of a 4.0 L sample is
changed from 2.5 atm to 5.0 atm.
You calculate z = Pfinal/Pinitial
z = 5.0 / 2.5
z=2
Pfinal = 1/z x Vinitial
Pfinal = 1/2 x 4.0 L
Pfinal = 2.0 L
Gay-Lussac’s Law
a special case of the ideal gas law where the volume of the gas is held constant.
When the volume is held constant, the pressure exerted by a gas is directly
proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas. These example problems use
Gay-Lussac's law to find the pressure of gas in a heated container as well as the
temperature you would need to change the pressure of gas in a container.
Example
A 20-liter cylinder contains 6 atmospheres (atm) of gas at 27 C. What would the
pressure of the gas be if the gas was heated to 77 C?
To solve the problem, just work through the following steps:
The cylinder's volume remains unchanged while the gas is heated so Gay-Lussac's
gas law applies. Gay-Lussac's gas law can be expressed as:
Pi/Ti = Pf/Tf
where
Pi and Ti are the initial pressure and absolute temperatures
Pf and Tf are the final pressure and absolute temperature
First, convert the temperatures to absolute temperatures.
Ti = 27 C = 27 + 273 K = 300 K
Tf = 77 C = 77 + 273 K = 350 K
Use these values in Gay-Lussac's equation and solve for Pf.
Pf = PiTf/Ti
Pf = (6 atm)(350K)/(300 K)
Pf = 7 atm
The answer you derive would be:
The pressure will increase to 7 atm after heating the gas from 27 C to 77 C.
Charles Law
Charles' law is a special case of the ideal gas law in which the pressure of a gas is
constant. Charles' law states that volume is proportional to the absolute
temperature of a gas at constant pressure. Doubling the temperature of gas doubles
its volume, so long as the pressure and quantity of the gas are unchanged. This
example problem shows how to use Charles' law to solve a gas law problem.
Charles' Law Example Problem
A 60What is the final volume?
Solution:
The first step to solving gas law problems should be converting all temperatures to
absolute temperatures. This is the most common place mistakes are made in this
type of homework problem.
T K = 273 + °C
Ti = initial temperature = 27 °C
Ti K = 273 + 27
Ti K = 300 K
Tf = final temperature = 77 °C
Tf K = 273 + 77
Tf K = 350 K
The next step is to use Charles' law to find the final volume. Charles' law is
expressed as:
Vi/Ti = Vf/Tf
where
Vi and Ti is the initial volume and temperature
Vf and Tf is the final volume and temperature
Solve the equation for Vf:
Vf = ViTf/Ti
Enter the known values and solve for Vf.
Vf = (600 mL)(350 K)/(300 K)
Vf = 700 mL
Answer:
The final volume after heating will be 700 mL.0 mL sample of nitrogen is heated
from 27 °C to 77 °C at constant pressure.
The combined gas law
The combined gas law combines the three gas laws: Boyle's Law, Charles' Law,
and Gay-Lussac's Law. It states the ratio of the product of pressure and volume and
the absolute temperature of a gas is equal to a constant. When Avogadro's law is
added to the combined gas law, the ideal gas law results. Unlike the named gas
laws, the combined gas law doesn't have an official discoverer.
It is simply a combination of the other gas laws that works when everything except
temperature, pressure, and volume are held constant.
There are a couple of common equations for writing the combined gas law. The
classic law relates Boyle's law and Charles' law to state:
PV/T = k
where
P = pressure
V = volume
T = absolute temperature (Kelvin)
k = constant
The constant k is a true constant if the number of moles of the gas doesn't change,
otherwise it varies.
Another common formula for the combined gas law relates "before and after"
conditions of a gas:
P1V1 / T1 = P2V2 / T2
Combined Gas Law Example
Find the volume of a gas at STP when 2.00 liters is collected at 745.0 mm Hg and
25.0 °C.
To solve the problem, you first need to identify which formula to use. In this case,
the question asks about conditions at STP, so you know you're dealing with a
"before and after" problem. Next, you need to now what STP is.
If you haven't memorized this already (and you probably should, since it appears a
lot), STP refers to "standard temperature and pressure", which is 273 K and 760.0
mm Hg.
Because the law works using absolute temperature, you need to convert 25.0 °C to
the Kelvin scale. This gives you 298 K.
At this point, you can just plug the values into the formula and solve for the
unknown, but a common mistake when you're new to this type of problem is
confusing which numbers go together.