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Gas Laws
Gas Laws
1st Semester
Name:
Section:
Score:
Instructor:
2. How do you calculate the number of particles from the equation of the best-fit line
when the experimental set-up is maintained at
(a) constant temperature?
3. How do you calculate the volume of the air chamber can from the equation of the
best-fit line when the experimental set-up is maintained at
(a) constant temperature?
P1
EXPERIMENT
Gas Laws
Objectives
At the end of the activity, the student should be able to:
determine the relationship between thermodynamic state variables (pressure, volume and temperature) for an ideal gas.
calculate the number of particles in a gas using the ideal gas equation.
Introduction
If a gas sample that has low density is compressed under constant temperature, its pressure increases. On the other hand, if such a gas expands under constant temperature,
then its pressure decreases. Robert Boyle was the one who experimentally discovered that
for a gas with low density and at constant temperature, the product of its pressure and
volume is constant. Jacques Charles and Joseph Gay-Lussac also obtained experimental
results that show the relationship among the pressure, volume and temperature of a gas.
In this experiment, you will verify the results of Boyle and Charles, and use the ideal
gas equation to compute for the number of particles of a gas in an air chamber can.
Theory
Ideal gas model
The ideal gas model is used to describe the behavior of dilute gases at low pressures and
high temperatures. Many gases e.g. nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, can be considered to
be ideal gases at room temperature and pressures close to 1 atm. Using this assumption,
the relationship among several properties of gases can be described using the three gas
laws, which were discovered experimentally: Boyles law, Charless law and Gay-Lussacs
Law. The equation of state for an ideal gas is
P V = N kT
(1)
where P is the pressure, V is the volume and N is the number of particles. If we have n
moles of the gas, then we have
N = nNA
(2)
Gas Laws
1st Semester
Physics 73.1
(3)
where TK and TC are the numerical values of the temperature in Kelvin and Celsius
scales, respectively. The constant k in the ideal gas equation is called the Boltzmann
constant and has the value
k = 1.3806488 1023 m2 kg s2 K1 .
(4)
Boyles Law
Robert Boyle in 1662 discovered that close to room temperature and at about 1 atm, the
pressure and volume of gases are inversely proportional to each other. This relationship
became known as Boyles Law and from the ideal gas equation Eq.(1), we can write this
law as
1
P
where the proportionality constant CB is N kT .
V = CB
(5)
Charless Law
Jacques Charles in 1780 discovered that close to room temperature and at about 1 atm,
the volume and temperature of gases are directly proportional to each other. Known
today as Charless Law, this relationship can be expressed using the ideal gas equation
Eq.(1) as
V = CC T
(6)
Materials
The following materials are required for the experiment:
Pasco mass lifter apparatus
Air chamber can with rubber tubing
Vernier LabQuest with stainless steel temperature probe and gas pressure sensor
Ice cubes
Cauldron
Stove
Gas Laws
Physics 73.1
1st Semester
Procedure
CAUTION:
Take extreme care when handling the expensive mass lifter apparatus. Make sure
that it is on a stable surface, its tubing is safe from heat and the screw is not locked
too tightly.
Physics 73.1
1st Semester
4. Calculate the number of particles N and the volume of the air chamber can Vcham
from the slope and y-intercept, respectively. Complete Table W3.
Bibliography
Paul A. Tipler and Gene Mosca. Physics for Scientists and Engineers - With Modern
Physics, Chapter 17, Sixth Edition, W.H. Freeman and Company, England, 2008.
Gas Laws
1st Semester
Physics 73.1
Group Members:
Section:
Score:
Instructor:
Data Sheet
Table W1: Set-up specifications
Diameter of the piston (m)
P 1 (Pa1 )
Temperature (K):
T (K)
Vcyl (m3 )
Pressure (Pa):
W1
Physics 73.1
1st Semester
Figure W1: Volume vs. inverse pressure Figure W2: Volume vs. temperature graph
graph for the Boyles Law experiment
for the Charless Law experiment
Questions
1. In the linear fitting, what do the values of R2 imply about the relationship between
(a) pressure and volume in Boyles law experiment?
2. If a mass is placed on top of the platform, what will happen to the slope and
y-intercept of the best-fit line for the Charless law experiment?
W2