EXPERIMENT: Boyle’s Law for Perfect Gases

Aim:
To compare actual test results with theory and confirm Boyle’s Law for perfect gases.

Apparatus
The TD1000 – Ideal Gases Apparatus (Boyle’s law) shown in Figure 1 is a bench-top apparatus
that demonstrates the relationship between pressure and volume of an ideal gas at a fixed
temperature.

Two-way valve Reservoir Test Cylinder Pressure

gauge
Air vent

Movable
Digital
Indicator

Digital
Temperature
Display

Hydraulic Oil

Pressure Pump Vacuum

(Bicycle-Style) Pump

Figure 1: Boyle's Law Apparatus - TD1000 - Ideal Gases.

1
Procedure

General Procedure 1: Increasing Pressure.

1. Make sure the equipment is level. Open the air vents at the top of the each
reservoir and check that the oil reaches the fill level mark on both vessels.
2. Note the local air pressure.
3. Connect the bicycle-style pump to the one-way valve marked pressure.
4. Turn the two-way valve towards the pressure connection (to the left).
5. Connect the temperature display and switch it on.
6. Shut the air vent at the top of each vessel.
7. Note the air temperature in the test cylinder.
8. Move the pointer of the digital indicator to the top of the cylinder and zero its
display.
9. Now slide the pointer down to measure the distance to the bottom of the trapped
air (top of the foil). Record the value in Table 1.
10. While watching the temperature, use the bicycle style pump to slowly increase
the pressure in the test cylinder to 0.4 bar (gauge). When the temperature
returns to normal (within 0.1°C), check the pressure and use the digital indicator
to measure the new distance to the bottom of the trapped air. (The temperature
may take several minutes to return to normal).
11. Repeat in 0.2 bar steps until 2 bar (gauge pressure) is reached.
12. Slowly open the air vent of the reservoir to allow the pressure to return back to
ambient.

General Procedure 2: Decreasing Pressure.

1. Repeat as in procedure 1, but use the vacuum pump and reduce the pressure in
0.1bar steps. Record data in Table 2

Observations
Table 1: Observations for increasing pressure

Test Cylinder Cross sectional area:

Ambient temperature:
Local air pressure (bar):

Gauge Pressure, p0 (bar) Digital Indicator Reading (mm)

2
Table 2: Observations for procedure 2.

Test Cylinder Cross sectional area:

Ambient temperature:
Local air pressure (bar):

Gauge Pressure, p0 (bar) Digital Indicator Reading (mm)

0.05
-0.10
-0.15
-0.20
-0.25

Analysis of the Results

Tabulate results and draw graphs (p vs V and p vs 1/V).

Table 3: Results Template.

Test Cylinder Cross sectional area:

Ambient temperature:
Local air pressure (bar):

Gauge Absolute Digital Volume, V Inverse Constant, k

Pressure, p0 pressure, p Indicator (l) volume, 1/V (p x V)
(bar) (bar) Reading
(mm)

Discussion
Plot pressure vs volume and pressure vs inverse of volume.
Discuss results and diagrams.
Identify possible causes of errors and suggest improvements for the experiment.