Name _________________________________________ Period _______ Date ______

AP Physics 2 Lab: BOYLE’S LAW

OBJECTIVES the 20 cm3 or 30 cm3 mark. Plug the syringe into

• To verify Boyle's Law. the plastic tubing without changing the volume.
• To use the ideal gas law and determine the amount 2. SparkVuew setup. Connect the pressure sensor to
of gas in a container. the SparkLink. Connect the SparkLink to the
computer and start SparkVue. Turn on the
MATERIALS SparkLink. SparkVue should detect the pressure
SparkVue, SparkLink, absolute pressure sensor, sensor and display the current pressure. Select
syringe, plastic tubing. Build (bottom right), then select single pane
display (top right). From the display toolbox in the
THEORY center, select Digits (123).
3. Press the play button. The pressure sensor should
An ideal gas with volume V, temperature T, and indicate a pressure close to the atmospheric one
pressure P, obeys the relationship, (101 kPa).
4. Do five pressure measurements for syringe volume
PV of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 cm3. The actual volume is
= const (1)
T 5 cm3 larger since the tubing is 5 cm3 in volume.
Be as precise as possible in keeping the volume
Furthermore, these variables are related by the constant while reading the pressure data.
equation of state, or the ideal gas law,
ANALYSIS
PV = nRT (2) 1. Collect the data in a table. Plot the data points in a
P − V diagram (pressure on the y-axis, volume on
where n is the number of moles of gas contained in the the x-axis).
volume V, and R is known as the universal gas 2. In a separate table column, calculate and record the
constant. Depending on the units of pressure and inverse volume, 1/V, in appropriate units. In a
volume, R has the following values separate graph, plot P (y-axis) vs 1/V (x-axis).
Draw a straight best-fit line starting from the
R = 8.315 m olJK origin. Determine precisely the slope of the linear
(3) graph and record it next to the graph.
R = 0.0821 mLolatm
K 3. From the slope, determine the molar amount of air
in the syringe. Calculate and record its mass, as
The amount of gas is commonly expressed in terms of well.
the number of moles. Recall that one mole of a
substance has NA = 6.021023 molecules (Avogadro’s PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS
number). Therefore, the mass of that substance is 1. Having in mind that air is about 23% oxygen and
given by 77% nitrogen, calculate the average molar mass of
air.
m = nM (4)
2. Determine the amount (in moles) and mass of 15
where M is the molar mass of the substance. cm3 of air at STP.
3. At constant temperature, how are gas density and
If we hold the temperature of the gas constant, Eq. (1) pressure related?
reduces to Boyle's Law: 4. How is the amount of air related to the slope of the
1 P vs 1/V? Write down the appropriate equation.
P (T = const) (5)
V
By measuring the pressure in a syringe as a function of
volume at room temperature, you will verify Boyle’s
law and determine the amount of air enclosed in the
syringe.

PROCEDURE
1. Apparatus setup. Make sure the plastic tubing is
connected to the pressure sensor by means of a
white airtight coupler. Move the syringe plunger to