Page |1 Boyle’s Law

Boyle’s Law

Introduction

In 1662, Robert Boyle discovered the relationship between the volume and the absolute pressure
of a gas that is at a constant temperature. If the mass of a gas in a container remains constant, but
its volume changes (as in a sealed container with elastic or movable walls), then the product of
pressure and volume of gas remains constant:

P1 V1 = P2 V2

where P1 and P2 is the pressure inside the container when its volume is V1 and V2, respectively.
According to the Boyle’s law, decrease in volume of certain amount of gas is accompanied by
proportional increase in pressure if the temperature is maintained constant. (Figure 1A)
In this experiment, you will rediscover this relationship by holding the temperature of a gas
constant and changing the volume of the gas and measuring the volume and the absolute
pressure.
Boyle’s Law could be obtained from the Ideal Gas Law (formulated much later, in 1834,
by Emile Clapeyron): P V = nRT

Here P, V, and T are the pressure, volume, and absolute temperature (in Pascals = N/m2, m3, and
Kelvin, respectively); n is the number of moles of gas, and R is the universal gas constant,
R = 8.134 J/(K. mole). Many real gases, including air, obey this law if T and P are not extremely
high. However, if the pressure is measured in atmospheres (atm) then the volume is in L and
R= 0.082 (L.atm/K.mole). For this lab activity you will measure the pressure in atm unit.
This equation can be rearranged:

1
P=n RT .
V

Therefore, the graph “P vs (1/V)” at a constant temperature is a straight line with the slope equal
to nRT, which can be used in your experiment to determine the number of moles of the gas (air)
in the syringe. (Figure 1B)

Figure 1 A) Pressure - volume graph B) Pressure-1/volume graph

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Procedure
1. Start up your browser and go to https://ch301.cm.utexas.edu/simulations/js/idealgaslaw/.
The temperature is set at 325K.
2. Increase the volume to 1000L with the up arrow and stop it at the desired volume.

3. Read the pressure and record it on the table.

4. Decrease the volume to 900 L with the down arrow and record the value of the pressure
on the table.
5. Repeat the process for all the volumes listed on the table. Make sure the temperature is
constant at 325 K.

Volume (L) Pressure(atm)

1000 0.80
900 0.89
800 1.00
700 1.14
600 1.33
500 1.60
400 2.00
300 2.67
200 4.00
150 5.33

Analysis:

1. Open the Excel workbook for Boyle’s law.

2. Copy the pressure column from your table and paste it in the proper column of the excel
file.
3. Examine the pressure vs. Volume graph. How they are related?
As evidenced by the graph, pressure increases with a decrease in volume, and vice versa.
Therefore, pressure is inversely proportional to volume.
4. Use the value of the slope of pressure vs 1/volume to determine the number of moles (n)
of air in the syringe.
Page |3 Boyle’s Law

PV= nRT

PV
n=
RT

80
8.31 x 325

80/2700.25

n= 0.2962 moles

5. Print screen your Excel file graphs and attach to your lab report.

Pressure vs. Voume

1200

1000

800
Volume

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Pressure
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Pressure vs. 1/V

0.008
0.007
0.006 f(x) = 0.0012558788408557 x − 1.42044736164328E-05

0.005
0.004
1/v

0.003
0.002
0.001
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Pressure