Gas Laws

One of the most amazing things about gases is that, despite wide differences in chemical
properties, all the gases more or less obey the gas laws. The gas laws deal with how gases
behave with respect to pressure, volume, temperature, and amount.
Pressure
Gases are the only state of matter that can be compressed very tightly or expanded to fill a
very large space. Pressure is force per unit area, calculated by dividing the force by the
area on which the force acts. The earth's gravity acts on air molecules to create a force,
that of the air pushing on the earth. This is called atmospheric pressure.
The units of pressure that are used are pascal (Pa), standard atmosphere (atm), and torr. 1
atm is the average pressure at sea level. It is normally used as a standard unit of pressure.
The SI unit though, is the pascal. 101,325 pascals equals 1 atm.
For laboratory work the atmosphere is very large. A more convient unit is the torr. 760
torr equals 1 atm. A torr is the same unit as the mmHg (millimeter of mercury). It is the
pressure that is needed to raise a tube of mercury 1 millimeter.
The Gas Laws: Pressure Volume Temperature Relationships

Boyle's Law: The Pressure-Volume Law

Boyle's law or the pressure-volume law states that the volume of a given amount of gas held
at constant temperature varies inversely with the applied pressure when the temperature
and mass are constant.

Another way to describing it is saying that their products are constant.

PV = C
When pressure goes up, volume goes down. When volume goes up, pressure goes down.
From the equation above, this can be derived:
P1V1 = P2V2 = P3V3 etc.
This equation states that the product of the initial volume and pressure is equal to the
product of the volume and pressure after a change in one of them under constant
temperature. For example, if the initial volume was 500 mL at a pressure of 760 torr, when
the volume is compressed to 450 mL, what is the pressure?
Plug in the values:
P1V1 = P2V2
(760 torr)(500 mL) = P2(450 mL)
760 torr x 500 mL/450 mL = P2 844 torr = P2
The pressure is 844 torr after compression.
A sample of gas has a volume of 6.20 L at 20C and 0.980 atm pressure. What is its volume at
the same temperature and at a pressure of 1.11 atm?

1. Tabulate the data

Initial Conditions

Final Conditions

volume

V1 = 6.20 L

V2 = ?

pressure

P1 = 0.980 atm

P2 = 1.11 atm

2. Check the pressure unit. If they are different, use a conversion factor to make them the same.
(Pressure conversion factors are found in the previous section.)
3. Substitute in the Boyle's Law Equation:

4. Check that your answer is reasonable. The pressure has increased the volume should decrease.
The calculated final olume is less than the initial volume, as predicted.

Charles' Law: The Temperature-Volume Law

This law states that the volume of a given amount of gas held at constant pressure is
directly proportional to the Kelvin temperature.
V

Same as before, a constant can be put in:

V/T=C
As the volume goes up, the temperature also goes up, and vice-versa.
Also same as before, initial and final volumes and temperatures under constant pressure
can be calculated.
V1 / T1 = V2 / T2 = V3 / T3 etc.

Example:
A The volume of a gas sample is 746 mL at 20 C. What is its
volume at body temperature (37C)? Assume the pressure remains
constant.
1. Tabulate the data
Initial Conditions

Final Conditions

volume

V1 = 746 mL

V2 = ?

temperature

T1 = 20C

T2 =37C

2. Do the units match? Charles' Law requires that the temperature be

measured in Kelvin in order to give the correct numerical ratio.
Therefore, change the given temperature to Kelvin:
T1 = 20 + 273 + 293 K
T2 = 37 + 273 =310 K
3. Calculate the new volume:

4. Is the answer reasonable? this volume is larger than the original

volume, as was predicted from the increase in temperature. The
answer is thus reasonable.

Gay-Lussac's Law: The Pressure Temperature Law

This law states that the pressure of a given amount of gas held at constant volume is
directly proportional to the Kelvin temperature.
P

Same as before, a constant can be put in:

P/T=C
As the pressure goes up, the temperature also goes up, and vice-versa.
Also same as before, initial and final volumes and temperatures under constant pressure
can be calculated.
P1 / T1 = P2 / T2 = P3 / T3 etc.

Avogadro's Law: The Volume Amount Law

Gives the relationship between volume and amount when pressure and temperature are
held constant. Remember amount is measured in moles. Also, since volume is one of the
variables, that means the container holding the gas is flexible in some way and can expand
or contract.
If the amount of gas in a container is increased, the volume increases. If the amount of gas
in a container is decreased, the volume decreases.
V

As before, a constant can be put in:

V/n=C
This means that the volume-amount fraction will always be the same value if the pressure
and temperature remain constant.
V1 / n1 = V2 / n2 = V3 / n3 etc.
Example:
A gas sample containing 5.02x1023 molecules has a volume of 19.6 L. At the same temperature
and pressure, how many molecules will be contained in 7.9 L of the gas?
Solution
If the temperature and pressure are kept constant, the volume of a gas is directly proportional to
the number of molecules it contains. Substituting values in the equation:

Rearranging and solving:

The Combined Gas Law

Now we can combine everything we have into one proportion:

The volume of a given amount of gas is proportional to the ratio of its Kelvin temperature
and its pressure.
Same as before, a constant can be put in:
PV / T = C
As the pressure goes up, the temperature also goes up, and vice-versa.
Also same as before, initial and final volumes and temperatures under constant pressure
can be calculated.
P1V1 / T1 = P2V2 / T2 = P3V3 / T3 etc.

Example:
A gas sample occupies a volme of 2.5 L at 10C and 0.95 atm. What

is its volume at 25C and 0.75 atm?

Solution
Initial Conditions

Final Conditions

volume

V1 = 2.5 L

V2 = ?

pressure

P1 = 0.95 atm

P2 = 0.75 atm

temperature

T1 = 10C = 283 K

T2 =25C = 298 K

Check that P1 and P2 are measured in the same units and that both
temperatures have been changed to Kelvin. Substitute in the
equation:

Solving this equation we get:

This answer is reasonable. Both the pressure change (lower) and the
temperature change (higher) would cause an increased volume.

The Ideal Gas Law

The previous laws all assume that the gas being measured is an ideal gas, a gas that obeys
them all exactly. But over a wide range of temperature, pressure, and volume, real gases
deviate slightly from ideal. Since, according to Avogadro, the same volumes of gas contain
the same number of moles, chemists could now determine the formulas of gaseous elements
and their formula masses. The idea gas law is:
PV = nRT
Where n is the number of moles of the number of moles and R is a constant called
the universal gas constant and is equal to approximately 0.0821 L-atm / mole-K.
Example:
What volume is occupied by 5.50 g of carbon dioxide at 25C and 742 torr?
Solution
1. Identify the variables in the equation, and convert the units to match those of the gas constant.
We will use the gas constant 0.082 L-atm/mol-K. This value establishes the units of volume (L),
of pressure (atm), of moles, and temperature (K) to be used in solving the problem.

2. Substituting these values into the ideal gas equation:

The units cancel; the answer is reasonable. The amount of carbon dioxide is about one-eight
mole. The conditions are not far from STO. The answer (3.13 L) is about one-eight of the molar
volume (22.4 L).

References:
https://www.chem.wisc.edu/deptfiles/genchem/sstutorial/Text9/Tx95/tx95.html
http://chemistry.bd.psu.edu/jircitano/gases.html