The Gas Laws

Learning Goals
I will be able to describe
Boyle’s, Charles’ and Gay-
Lussac’s Laws relating T,
P and/or V and be able to
calculate unknown values
using the equations
derived from these laws, as
well as the combined gas
law.
The Simple Gas Laws

• Boyle’s Law
• Charles’s Law
• Avogadro’s Law
 There are four basic properties of a gas: pressure (P),
volume (V), temperature (T), and amount in moles
(n).
These properties are interrelated—when one
changes, it affects the others.
The simple gas laws describe the relationships
between pairs of these properties.
Pressure - Temperature - Volume
Relationship

P V
T
P T VV
P
1
___
Boyle’s PV
Charles V T

Gay-Lussac’s P T
 1. Intro to Boyle’s Law
 Imagine that you hold the tip of a syringe on the tip of your finger so
no gas can escape. Now push down on the plunger of the syringe.

 What happens to the volume in the syringe?

 What happens to the pressure the gas is exerting in the syringe?

Boyle’ s Law: Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Boyle’ s Law: Robert Boyle (1627-1691)

 Robert Boyle used a J-

tube to measure the
volume of a sample of gas
at different pressures.
 They trapped a sample of
air in the J-tube and
added mercury to increase
the pressure on the gas.

They observed an inverse relationship

between volume and pressure.
1. Boyle’s Law
 1. Boyle’s Law
 The pressure and volume of a gas are
inversely proportional (as one increases,
the other decreases, and vice versa
• at constant mass & temp

V
 1. Boyle’s Law

Boyle’s Law leads to the mathematical

expression: *Assuming temp is constant

P1V1=P2V2

Where P1 represents the initial pressure

V1 represents the initial volume,

And P2 represents the final pressure

Boyle’ s Law and Diving
 For every 10 m of
depth, a diver
experiences
approximately one
additional atmosphere
of pressure due to the
weight of the
surrounding water.

 At 20 m, for example,
the diver experiences
approximately 3 atm of
pressure.
 Boyle’ s Law and Diving
 If a diver holds his or her breath and
rises to the surface quickly, the outside
pressure drops to 1 atm.
According to Boyle’s law, what should
happen to the volume of air in the
lungs?
 Because the pressure is decreasing by
a factor of 3, the volume will expand by
a factor of 3, causing damage to internal
organs.
Always exhale when rising!
Medical Aspirator
Car Engine
Balloon Pump
Using Syringe
Breathing
 Example Problems:
1. A fixed amount of gas occupies a syringe
with a volume of 6.0 L. The pressure at 25
degrees Celsius is 1.00 atm. What will be
the new pressure if the volume becomes 3.0
L at the same temperature?
 Example Problems:
2. A certain amount of gas at 30 degrees
Celsius occupies a container with an adjustable
volume. It currently has a volume of 11.0 L, with
a pressure of 1.25 atm. What would its volume
be if the pressure were adjusted to 1.50 atm?
 Example Problems:
3. A cylinder of a scuba tank has a volume of
1500 ml at a pressure of 0.75 atm. What volume
of air is needed to fill the cylinder to a pressure
of 100 atm at constant temperature?
 Example Problems:
4. A gas, which is occupying a volume of 700
mL at a pressure of 0.85 atm, is allowed to
expand (at constant temperature) until the
pressure becomes 0.35 atm. What will be the
final volume of the gas?
 Quiz:

1. A weather balloon with a volume of 2000L at a pressure of 96.3 kPa

rises to an altitude of 1000m, where the atmospheric pressure is
measured to be 60.8kPa. Assuming there is no change in the
temperature or the amount of gas, calculate the weather balloon’s final
volume.

2. A sample of air occupies 3.0 L when the pressure is 1.3 atm. If the
temperature is kept constant, what pressure is needed to reach the final
volume of 1.25 L?

3. Atmospheric pressure on the peak of Kilimanjaro can be as low as

0.20 atm. If the volume of an oxygen tank is 10.0L, at what pressure
must the tank be filled so the gas inside would occupy a volume of 1.2
x 103L at this pressure
MINI PERFORMANCE TASK:
You are a writer of stories for children. Your
friend, who is an elementary science teacher,
needs your help and has asked you to write a
story about the movement of gas particles.
Your friend will use this story as a learning tool
for her students. Your story must be
interesting, creatively written and appropriate
to the readers (grade four students). Your
friend will evaluate your story, and decide
whether she will use your story or not in her
class. Pass it on Monday.