Name____________________________________

Physics Simulation Lab

Gas Laws

The ideal gas law is given as:

pV =nRT , where

p = pressure, V = volume, n = number of moles, T = Temperature, and R = Ideal

Gas Constant
In this activity you will explore the ideal gas law as well as other thermodynamic
processes.

Student Learning Objectives

Students will:

 explore the relationships between pressure, volume, temperature, and the

number of moles of an ideal gas (a.k.a. The ideal gas law) and answer
specific questions directed at assessing their understanding of these
relationships.

 use the Gas Law’s virtual environment to accurately collect data

 use a virtual graphing environment to manually graph their data.

Assessment of the agreement between data table and graph will be used to
assess student graphing skills; use graphical analysis of their the data to
help answer specific questions related to the ideal Gas Law.

Part 1 Getting started:

Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gas-properties and select RunNow

The YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0zesDZ8r3k introduces

you to the simulation environment.

Start out by putting 20 heavy molecules into the box.

Wait about 1 minute for everything to settle down.

Look closely at the molecules bouncing around.

Does it look like the molecules bounce off the walls with
the same speed that they strike the walls? Yes or No

Do the molecules bounce off each other? Yes or No

If Yes, Do the molecules bounce off each other with the same speed that they had
before colliding? Yes or No
Part 2: Constant Volume – Isochoric Process
Clear all molecules from the box by clicking the reset button and then add 100
heavy molecules into the container.

Select the Constant Volume environment

Vary the temperature from 300 to 900 K by using the heat option. Record the
Pressure and Temperature for at least 6 different temperatures in the 300 to 900
Kelvin range. Each time you heat up the gas you must wait for about 20 to 30
seconds before things settle down. Graph these values on the graph provided.

Table 1

Temperature(K)
Pressure (atm)
Make a graph of pressure on the y-axis vs temperature on the x-axis using the
axes below.

What is the relationship between pressure and temperature at constant volume?

 Using this data, predict at what temperature the pressure will become:

0.20 atm predicted temperature =__________________________

0.1 atm predicted temperature =__________________________

0 atm predicted temperature =__________________________

Remove heat from the chamber to get back to near 300 K with the fixed volume.
The easiest way to do this is click the reset button, select constant volume, and add
100 heavy molecules back into the container. The default setting is that all new
molecules go into the container at a temperature of 300K.

Part 3: Constant Temperature – Isothermal Process

Select the Constant Temperature environment.
(make sure you are at 300 K before you switch to constant temperature)

Click the width box to get the width of the bottom of the container. Use the
handle bar on the left of the container to change the volume of the gas.

Vary the volume by sliding the left wall to the right or left and record at least 6
different Volume/Pressure pairs. Each time change the volume you must wait for
about 20 to 30 seconds before things settle down. Record the Volume Pressure
pairs in the table below and then graph these values on the graph provided.

Table 2

Volume (relative
units)
Pressure (atm)

Make a graph of pressure on the y-axis vs relative volume on the x-axis using the
axes below.

What is the relationship between pressure and Volume at constant Temperature?

 Using this data, predict at what Volume the pressure will become:

3.00 atm predicted volume =__________________________

0.1 atm predicted volume =__________________________

Although the temperature readjusts to 300 K when constant temperature is

selected, the temperature may change a bit when the volume changes.

Does the temperature increase or decrease when the volume increases?

Does the temperature increase or decrease when the volume decreases?

Part 4: Constant Pressure – Isobaric Process

Reset the number of molecules to 100 and keep the constant
temperature setting selected until the temperature settles back
to 300 K for a relative volume around 6.6.

Now select constant Pressure with varying Volume. Record six

different values of the relative volume.

Next, select constant Pressure with varying Temperature.

Record six different values of the relative volume.
Using the heat control to add or remove
heat vary the temperature from 150 K to
350 K and for each temperature measure
the new volume (with the ruler tool) after
everything has settled down. Record these
Temperature and Volume pairs in Table 3
below and then graph these values on the
graph provided (Graph 4)

Table 3

Temperature(K)

Volume
(Relative Units)

Make a graph of Volume on the y-axis vs Temperature on the x-axis using the axes
below.