What is Kelvin?

Kelvin is the base unit to measure temperature in the International System of Units, also known as the SI unit. It
is denoted by the symbol K. It should be noted that we do not use 'degree' in the Kelvin scale because it is an
absolute scale.

What is Celsius?
Celsius is a unit for measuring temperature in which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100° under standard
conditions. It is denoted by the letter C. The Celsius scale is split into 100 equal divisions called degrees. This
scale is also called the Centigrade scale since there are 100 degrees between the two points.

We can covert between Kelvin and Celcius:

Conversion formula: kelvin = 273.15 + Celsius and °C = K − 273.15.

Practice:
1.  Convert 300 Kelvin to Celsius.
2. How many degrees Celsius is 1 Kelvin?
 Topic 1
Gas Laws
 The Bends
The understanding of gas laws is especially important for
the management and prevention of the bends, otherwise
known as decompression sickness.
As we descend into the ocean, pressure increases by
14.7lbs per sq inch for every 33ft increase in depth.
As such divers’ need to pay close attention to Boyle’s
Law
◦ Does anyone remember Boyle’s Law? And how can this lead to
decompression sickness?
 The Bends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1AntADx-nA
Divers and the Bends
Objectives
Students should be able to:
State the properties and characteristics of gases.
State, and perform calculations using, the empirical gas
laws (Boyle's law; Charles' law; Gay-Lussac's law;
combined gas law; Avogadro's law).
Properties of Gases
 A gas represents one of the three states of matter.
 Gases contain particles that are far apart.
 The particles are highly energetic with little or no
attractive forces between them.
Characteristics of Gases
Gases expand to fill any container.
◦ random motion, no attraction
Gases are fluids (like liquids).
◦ no forces of attraction between particles
Gases have very low densities.
◦ no fixed volume = lots of empty space
Gases can be compressed.
◦ no fixed volume = lots of empty space
Gases undergo diffusion & effusion.
◦ random motion
Empirical gas laws
These laws show the relationship between variables such as:
1. The volume occupied by a gas.
2. The pressure exerted by a gas on the walls of its container.
3. The absolute temperature of the gas.
4. The amount of gaseous substance (or) the number of moles of gas.

Under standard conditions, all gasses exhibit similar behaviour. The

variations in their behaviours is a result of changes in the
aforementioned variables associated with the gas.
The gas laws basically describe the behaviour of gases
Gas Pressure units
Temperature
Always use absolute temperature (Kelvin) when working with gases.

ºF
-459 32 212
ºC
-273 0 100
K
0 273 373

C  59 F  32 K = ºC + 273

 Volume
Always use litres, this is related to the gas constant
used in the ideal gas law.

Value of R, which is 0.082057 L atm mol-1K-1, your

unit for pressure must be atm, for volume must be
liter, for temperature must be Kelvin.
Boyle’s Law
1
V
P

PV = k
Boyle’s Law
Definition
Boyle’s Law: For a fixed number of moles of gas at
constant temperature, the volume is inversely
proportional to the pressure. PV = constant

P1V1 = P2V2
Demonstration of Boyle’s Law
Which picture represents what takes place
when the pressure is doubled?
(Assume constant moles and temp)
Boyle’s Law Worked Example
Calculate the volume of a sample of gas at 5.75 atm if it
occupies 5.14 L at 2.49 atm. (Assume constant temperature.)

Solution:
Use the relationship below to solve for V2:

P1V1 = P2V2

P1  V1 2.49 atm  5.14 L

V2    2.26 L
P2 5.75 atm
 Worked Example
If a skin diver takes a breath at the surface, filling his lungs with 5.82 L of air,
what volume will the air in his lungs occupy when he dives to a depth where the
pressure is 1.92 atm? (Assume constant temperature and that the pressure at the
surface is exactly 1 atm.)

Strategy Use P1V1 = P2V2 to solve for V2.

Solution P1 = 1.00 atm, V1 = 5.82 L, and P2 = 1.92 atm.

P1 × V 1 1.00 atm × 5.82 L
V2 = = = 3.03 L
P2 1.92 atm

Think About It At higher pressure, the volume should be smaller. Therefore,

the answer makes sense.
Practice Question
1.00 dm3 of a gas at standard temperature and pressure is
compressed to 0.473 dm3. What is the new pressure of the gas?
(s.t.p = 0oC and 1 atm respectively)
Practice Question
When a sample of hydrogen is compressed to 240 mL, its pressure changes
from 0.8 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres. What was the original volume of the
sample?
Practice Question
An 18.10mL sample of gas is at 3.500 atm. What will be the volume if the
pressure becomes 2.500 atm, with a fixed amount of gas and temperature?
 TASK 1
Divers get “the bends” if they come up too fast because gas in their blood
expands, forming bubbles in their blood. If a diver has 0.05 dm3 of gas in his
blood under a pressure of 250 atm, then rises instantaneously to a depth
where his blood has a pressure of 50.0 atm, what will the volume of gas in his
blood be? Do you think this will harm the diver?
Charles’ Law

VT

V
=k
T
Charles’s Law

Vinitial Vfinal
=
Tinitial Tfinal
Charles’ Law
For a fixed number of moles of gas at constant
pressure, the volume of the gas is directly proportional
to the absolute temperature of the gas in kelvin.
V = constant x T

V1/T1 = V2/T2
All temperatures must be converted to Kelvin, how do
we do this?
 
Demonstration of Charles’ Law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZbkXB3y1Q
Which picture represents what takes place
when the temperature is doubled?
(Assume constant moles and pressure)
Charles’ Law Worked Example
A sample of gas originally occupies 29.1 L at 0.0°C. What is its new volume when it
is heated to 15.0°C? (Assume constant pressure.)

Solution:
Use the relationship below to solve for V2: (Remember that temperatures must be
expressed in kelvin.

V1 V2

T1 T2

V1  T2 29.1 L  288.15 K
V2    30.7 L
T1 273.15 K
Worked Example
A sample of argon gas that originally occupied 14.6 L at 25°C was heated to
50.0°C at constant pressure. What is its new volume?

Strategy Use V1/T1 = V2/T2 to solve for V2. Remember that temperatures must
be expressed in kelvin.

Solution T1 = 298.15 K, V1 = 14.6 L, and T2 = 323.15 K.

V1 × T2 14.6 L × 323.15 K
V2 = T1= 298.15 K = 15.8 L

Think About It When temperature increases at constant pressure, the volume of

a gas sample increases.
Practice Question
The temperature inside a refrigerator is about 40 C. If a balloon is placed in
the fridge that initially has a temperature of 220 C and a volume of 0.5 dm3,
what will be the volume of the balloon when it is fully cooled by the
refrigerator?
Practice Question
A sample of Carbon dioxide in a pump has a volume of 21.5 mL and it is at
50.0 oC. When the amount of gas and pressure remain constant, find the new
volume of Carbon dioxide in the pump if the temperature is increased to
75.0 oC.
Practice Question
I have made a thermometer which measures temperature by the compressing
and expanding of gas in a piston. I have measured that at 1000 C the volume
of the piston is 20 dm3. What is the temperature outside if the piston has a
volume of 15 dm3? What would be appropriate clothing for this weather?
Gay Lussac’s Law
The pressure and absolute temperature (K) of a gas are
directly related at constant mass & volume

P P
k
T T
Demonstration of Gay Lussac’s Law
 Gay Lussac’s Law
Gay-Lussac law gives the relationship between temperature
and pressure at constant volume.

The law states that at a constant volume, the pressure of the

gas is directly proportional to the temperature for a given
gas.
Practice Question
 Determine the pressure change when a constant volume of gas at 2.00 atm is
heated from 30.0 °C to 40.0 °C.
 Solution:
Avogadro’s Law
States that the volume of a sample of gas is directly proportional to the number of
moles in the sample at constant temperature and pressure.

V1 V2
V n 
n1 n2
 Which picture represents what the gas will
look like when the moles of gas is doubled?
(Assume constant P, T)
Practice Question
 Atconstant temperature and pressure, 6.00 L of a gas is known to contain
0.975 mol. If the amount of gas is increased to 1.90 mol, what new volume
will result?
Combined Gas Law
The combined gas law can be used to solve problems where any or all the variables
change.
The law shows the relationship between temperature, volume and pressure for a fixed
quantity of gas.
If P1V1 = P2V2 and V1/T1 = V2/T2
then
P1V1 = P2V2
T1 T2
If the number of moles is a variable then
P1V1 P2V2

n1T1 n2T2
Combined Gas Law Worked Example
The volume of a bubble starting at the bottom of a lake at
4.55°C increases by a factor of 10 as it rises to the
surface where the temperature is 18.45°C and the air
pressure is 0.965 atm. Assume the density of the lake
water is 1.00 g/mL. Determine the pressure at the depth
of the lake.
Solution:
Use the combined gas law to find the pressure at the
bottom of the lake; assume constant moles of gas.
P1V1 P2V2

n1T1 n2T2

P2V2T1  0.965 atm 10 V1 277.7 K 

P1    9.19 atm
T2V1 291.6 K V1 
Practice Question
A sample of fluorine gas occupies 810ml at 270 K and 1 atm. What
volume does the gas occupy when the pressure is doubled, and
the temperature increases to 400 K?
 TASK 2
A 900 liter supply of xenon gas is held at 27 °C and 100 kPa. When the
temperature is lowered to -73 °C, what pressure must be applied to compress
the gas to 200 liters?
SUMMARY