Experimentally Testing the Ideal Gas Law

CHM 144 A
Mingke Tang
Nozomi Tanaka
Jalyn Sutton-Jackson
Ying Zhang(TA)
Dr. James Garrity
5/1/2014

I.

Abstract
In this lab, the objective is to learn the physical properties of gas. Moreover, develope the

hypotheses about the relationship of pressure, volume and temperature in pair, and prove the
hypotheses. To test hypotheses, the method is using the pressure-volume apparatus,
pressure-temperature apparatus and volume-temperature apparatus to hold one of the three
variable constant and to find the relationship between the other two. In the result, according to
graphical analyses and numerical analyses, pressure and volume are inversely proportional, the
pressure and temperature are directly proportional and volume and temperature are directly
proportional in the third experiment. Even the slope m graphical analyses is not in the 95%
confidence interval of k showed in the numerical analyses, the result is still be accepted because
of some reasons. The conclusion is that the three hypotheses are proved by three experiments.

II. Introduction
This lab focus on the physical properties properties of gas. The chemical properties of gas
are different because of their different composition. However, all gases have the same physical
behavior, which include pressure(P), volume(V), temperature(K), and number of moles(n). For
the ideal gas, the four variables interact, and one of them can be determined by other three
variables. The relationship among the four variables are called the ideal gas law.
PV=nRT
In this relationship, the R represents the gas constant. The value of R depends on the units
of pressure, volume, temperature, and number of moles. At standard temperature and pressure,
where temperature is 273.15K, and pressure is 1 atm, R is 0.00821

atm L
.
mol K

The ideal gas law can quantitatively analyze the physical behavior of the idea gas.
However, there is no ideal gas. Some simple gas, including air, obey the ideal gas law at
ordinary temperature. As the temperature and pressure become extreme, these gases do not obey
the ideal gas law as long.
The purpose of this lab is to determine the relationship between two of the four variables
when the other variables are constant. There are three experiment in this lab. For the three
experiment, the number of moles is always constant, because all experiment happen in the
enclosed system. In the first experiment, the purpose is to determine the the relationship between
pressure and volume, when temperature hold constant. The hypothesis is that pressure is
inversely proportional to temperature, meaning, pressure and volume to the minus one are
directly proportional. According to the ideal gas law, the reasoning is that pressure decreases
when volume increases. To test the hypothesis, the method is using the handle to decrease the
volume of syringe, and recording the corresponding pressure at a constant temperature. In the
second experiment, the purpose is to determine the relationship between pressure and
temperature, when volume is constant. The hypothesis is that pressure is directly proportional to
temperature. According to the ideal gas law, the reasoning is that the pressure increases as
temperature increases. The method, which is used to test the hypothesis, is increasing the

temperature of air in the flask and recording the corresponding readings of pressure sensor at a
constant volume. In the third experiment, the purpose is to determine the relationship between
volume the temperature at constant pressure. The hypothesis is that volume and temperature are
directly proportional. According to the ideal gas law, the reasoning is that volume increases as
the temperature increase. The method used to test the hypothesis is increasing the temperature of
the air in the bottle and syringe, and recording the corresponding volume at a constant pressure.
III. Method
1. Relationship between pressure and volume at constant temperature
For this experiment, the constant temperature means the air is always at the indoor
temperature. Use the plunger to position the piston of the syringe until the volume of the air
syringe to 55mL. Adjust the handle to make the clamp foot rest on the top of the plunger. Set up
the LabQuest to make sure that the unit of pressure is atm. Connect the syringe to the gas
pressure sensor. Record the initial volume readings and pressure. Use the handle to decrease the
volume of the syringe about 5mL each time. Recording the volumes, and corresponding pressure
readings. Repeat this procedure to get total six sets of data of temperature and pressures.
Disconnect the pressure sensor, and restore all the equipments.
2. Relationship between pressure and temperature at constant volume
For this experiment, the constant volume means the air is in the enclosed Erlenmeyer flask.
Set up the LabQuest to make sure the unit of pressure is atm, and the unit of temperature is
K. Connect the LabQuest to the gas pressure sensor and the temperature probe. Using a
one-holed rubber stopper to tightly seal the 25-mL Erlenmeyer flask.Connect the flask to the gas
pressure. Use ice and water to make a ice-water bath in the 400-mL beaker, which is above 273
K. Until the temperature of the ice-water bath is uniform, place the flask and the temperature
probe in it. After the flask immerse in the ice-water bath 2 minutes, connect the other end of the
tube to the gas pressure sensor. Wait and stir the water bath until the pressure is stable, which
means that the first three digits can hold at least 30 seconds. Record the initial pressure and
temperature. Adding the hot water and moving the ice out to increase the temperature about 10

K each time. Always Stirring the water bath.Record the readings of pressure and temperature
until the pressure is stable. Repeat this procedure 4 times to get four sets of data of pressure and
temperature. At the end, record total five sets of readings of pressure and temperature.
3. Relationship between volume and temperature at constant pressure
For the constant pressure, always adjust the syringe to the initial pressure while the
temperature changes. Set up the LabQuest device to make sure the unit of temperature is K.
Connect the LabQuest to the gas pressure sensor and the temperature probe. Using a two-holed
rubber stopper to tightly seal the bottle, and the connect the bottle with the syringe. For the other
hole in the stopper, connect with the one end of the tube, do not connect the other end of the tube
to the gas pressure sensor. Make sure the stopcock is in the open position. Adjust the utility
clamp to make sure the plunger can smoothly move. Make sure the plunger is depressed.
Use ice and water to make a ice-water bath in the cooler provided, stir them until the
temperature is uniform. Adjust the utility clamp to make sure that the bottle and most of the
syringe are immersed in the ice-water bath. Place the temperature probe in it. Connect the other
end of the tube with the pressure sensor. Always stir the water bath. Until the pressure is stable,
record the initial pressure. Also record the initial volume of the syringe and temperature. Adding
the hot water and moving the ice out to increase the temperature about 10 K each time. After the
temperature changes, use the plunger to adjust the volume of gar in the syringe, the purpose is
return the pressure to the initial value. Repeat this procedure to get the four additional sets of
temperature and volume. Finally, fill the bottle with water to the brim, and insert the stopper.
Carefully remove the stopper, and transfer all water to the 100-mL graduated cylinder. Record
this volume as the volume of bottle.
4. Calculation
For

the

third

experiment,

the

total

volume

of

air

in

the

apparatus

is

Vtotal Vbottle Vsyringe Vtubing . Move three sets of data in the three experiment to Logger pro. Plot

three graphs: volume versus pressure, temperature versus pressure, temperature versus volume.
If the plot is not linear, find the function n of independent variable to get the linear plot. The

slope m of the graphs is the constant described the relationship. Then calculate the
proportionality constant of each data pair for the three experiment: ki

P
P
, ki
, and
n
(V )
(T ) n

V
ki totaln . The mean of proportional is
(T )

k mean

. The standard deviation to justice the data.

d d 2 ... d n 1/ 2
)
is S X ( 1
( d | k mean ki | ). The 95% confidence interval of k is
l 1
2

CI= k mean t * S m ( S m S x ). The interpolation for the graphical analyses is y mx b .

l

IV. Results
1. Relationship between pressure and volume at constant temperature
In this experiment, to get the linear plot, the function n of the independent variable
should be -1. That means the linear graph is pressure versus volume to the negative one. The
proportionality constant for this experiment is ki

P
Logger pro can generate this plot,
(V ) 1

which show in Figure 1. In this figure, the independent variable is volume to the negative one,
and the dependent variable is pressure. The slope m in this graph is 0.0512.

Figure 1. Relationship between pressure and volume

The result for the calculation of k, mean of k, and the standard deviation can be calculated
by using the above equations. For the 95% confidence interval, the m for this part is 7, so the t
value for the 95% confidence level is 2.45. These data shows in the Table 1. According to table 1,
m is not within the 95% confidence interval of k.
1

0.0547

0.0544

0.537

0.0544

0.531

0.0533

0.0526

kmean

0.0537

Sx

0.00074

CI

[0.0530, 0.0544]
Table 1. Relationship between pressure and volume

2. Relationship between pressure and temperature at constant volume

In the experiment, the function n of the independent variable should be 1, which can get
the linear plot. The proportionality constant for this experiment is ki

P
. Logger pro can
T

generate this plot, which is Figure 2. In the Figure 1, the independent variable is temperature,
and the dependent variable is pressure. The slope m in this graph is 0.3397.

Figure 2. Relationship between pressure and temperature

The result for the calculation of k, mean of, the standard deviation can be calculated by
using the above equations. For the 95% confidence interval, the m for this part is 5, so the t
value for the 95% confidence level is 2.78. These data shows in the Table 2. According to this
table, m is not within the 95% confidence interval of k.
1

0.003363

0.003361

0.003362

0.003355

0.003369

kmean

0.003362

Sx

5.22*10-6

CI

[0.003356, 0.003365]
Table 2. Relationship between pressure and temperature

3. Relationship between volume and temperature at constant pressure

In the experiment, the function n of the independent variable should be 1, which can get
the linear plot. The proportionality constant for this experiment is . ki

Vtotal
T

. Logger pro can

generate this plot, which is Figure 3. In this figure, the independent variable is temperature, and
the dependent variable is total volume. The slope m in this graph is 0.000273.

Figure 3. Relationship between volume and temperature

The result for the calculation of k, mean of, the standard deviation can be calculated by
using the above equations. For the 95% confidence interval, the m for this part is 5, so the t
value for the 95% confidence level is 2.78. These data show in the Table 3. According to this
table, m is not within the 95% confidence interval of k.
1

0.000279

0.000282

0.000281

0.000281

0.000279

kmean

0.000281

Sx

1.4*10-6

CI

[0.000280, 0.000281]
Table 3. Relationship between volume and temperature at constant pressure

V. Discussion
For the first experiment, the correlation coefficient for the Figure 1 is 0.9996, which is
very closed to 1. That means this graph is a good linear fit. Moreover, in the Table 1, the
standard deviation is 0.00074, which is closed to zero. The standard deviation is small enough to
be accepted. Therefore, pressure and volume to the minus one are directly proportional, meaning,
pressure is inversely proportional to volume. The hypothesis is proved by the result. However,
the slope m is not in the 95% confidence interval of k, because the gas used in this lab is not
really ideal gas. So it can not perfectly obey the ideal gas law. Moreover, the intercept from this
graphical analysis in the Figure 1 is 0.06188, which is not exactly zero. However, the intercept
from the number analysis is considered to be zero. That

means, the m cannot be equal to k. For

this part, m is very closed to the 95% confidence interval of k, which is can be accepted.
For the second experiment, the correlation coefficient for the Figure 2 is 0.9993, which is
pretty closed to 1. That means this plot is a good linear fit. On the other hand, the standard
deviation showed in Table 2 is 5.22*10-6, which is small enough to be accepted. Therefore,
pressure and temperature are directly proportional. The hypothesis is proved by the result.
However, the slope m is not in the 95% confidence interval of k, because the gas used in this lab
is not really ideal gas. So it can not perfectly obey the ideal gas law. On the other hand, the

intercept from this graphical analysis is -0.01062, which is not exactly zero. However, when
calculating k, the intercept is considered to be zero. It is possible for m to be unequal to k. For
this part, m is very closed to the 95% confidence interval of k, which is can be accepted.
In the third experiment, the correlation coefficient is 0.995 which is showed in the Figure
3. This value is closed to 1, which means this plot is good linear fit. Besides, according to the
Table 3, the standard deviation is 1.4*10-6, which is small enough to be accepted. So total
volume and temperature are directly proportional. The hypothesis is proved by the experiment.
However, the slope m is not within the 95% confidence interval of k. There are many reasons to
result in this error. Firstly, the gas used in this experiment is not the really ideal gas. So it does
not totally match with the ideal gas law. Secondly, the intercept showed in the Figure 3 is
0.002182, which is not equal to zero. However, the intercept for calculating k is zero. Therefore,
m cannot be equal to k. Finally, there are some potential error in this lab which result in the
inaccurate result. The the limitations on the 100-mL volumetric flask is not very small, which
can result in the error in the reading of the volume.
VI. Conclusion
In this lab, I wrote the hypotheses for the three experiment according to the ideal gas law.
I learn that the hypotheses should be put forward based on the proved law. Then we used the
pressure-volume apparatus, pressure-temperature apparatus and volume-temperature apparatus
to respectively test the three hypotheses. I learned how to use these apparatus to find the
relationship among pressure, volume and temperature by holding one of them constant. We used
the graphical analyses to check whether the plot is good linear fit, and then used the numerical
analyses to find k. The standard deviation can prove that the dependent variable and the function
of the independent variable are directly proportional in the accepted error range. Specifically, we
used the graphical analyses and numerical analyses to proved that the pressure and volume are
inversely proportional in the first experiment, proved that the pressure and temperature are
directly proportional in the second experiment, and proved that volume and temperature are
directly proportional in the third experiment. The three experiment respectively prove Boyle s

Law, Gay-Lussac s Law, and Charles s Law.

VII. Reference
Novak, Michael; Jessa,Yasmin; Bear, Dee Dee.
University: Oxford, 2003.

General Chemistry: Laboratory manual; Miami