Combined gas law

The combined gas law is a gas law that combines

Charless law, Boyles law, and Gay-Lussacs law. There
is no ocial founder for this law; it is merely an amalgamation of the three previously discovered laws. These
laws each relate one thermodynamic variable to another
mathematically while holding everything else constant.
Charless law states that volume and temperature are directly proportional to each other as long as pressure is held
constant. Boyles law asserts that pressure and volume
are inversely proportional to each other at xed temperature. Finally, Gay-Lussacs law introduces a direct proportionality between temperature and pressure as long as
it is at a constant volume. The inter-dependence of these
variables is shown in the combined gas law, which clearly
states that:

Charless Law shows that the volume is proportional to

the absolute temperature:

V
= k2
T

Gay-Lussacs Law says that the pressure is proportional

to the absolute temperature:

P = k3 T

(3)

where P is the pressure, V the volume and T the absolute

temperature of an ideal gas.
By combining (1) and either of (2) or (3), we can gain a
new equation with P, V and T. If we divide equation (1)
by temperature and multiply equation (2) by pressure we
will get:

This can be stated mathematically as:

PV
=k
T
where:

PV
k1 (T )
=
T
T

P is the pressure

PV
= k2 (P )P
T
As the left-hand side of both equations is the same, we
arrive at k1T(T ) = k2 (P )P , which means that

V is the volume
T is the temperature measured in kelvin
k is a constant (with units of energy divided by
temperature).

PV
= const
T

For comparing the same substance under two dierent

sets of conditions, the law can be written as:

Substituting in Avogadros Law yields the ideal gas equation.

P2 V2
P1 V1
=
T1
T2

2 Physical Derivation

The addition of Avogadros law to the combined gas law

yields the ideal gas law.

(2)

A derivation of the combined gas law using only elementary algebra can contain surprises. For example, starting
from the three empirical laws

Derivation from the Gas Laws

Main article: Gas Laws

P = kV T
Boyles Law states that the pressure-volume product is V = kP T
constant:
P V = kT
P V = k1

where k, k , and k are the constants, one can multiply

the three together to obtain

(1)
1

3 APPLICATIONS

Note that 1/kV(V0 ) and 1/kP(P0 ) are the slopes of orthogonal lines parallel to the P-axis/V-axis and through
P V P V = kV T k P T k T
that point on the surface above the PV plane. The ratio
of the slopes of these two lines depends only on the value
Taking the square root of both sides and dividing by T of P0 / V0 at that point.
appears to produce of the desired result
Note that the functional form of (6) did not depend on
the particular point chosen. The same formula would
have arisen for any other combination of P and V values.

PV
= kP kV kT
Therefore one can write
T
However, if before applying the above procedure, one
merely rearranges the terms in Boyles Law, k = P V,
then after canceling and rearranging, one obtains

P
kV (V )
=
kP (P )
V

P, V

This says that each point on the surface has it own pair
of orthogonal lines through it, with their slope ratio dekT
pending only on that point. Whereas (6) is a relation be= T2
kV kP
tween specic slopes and variable values, (7) is a relation
between slope functions and function variables. It holds
which is not very helpful if not misleading.
true for any point on the surface, i.e. for any and all comA physical derivation, longer but more reliable, begins binations of P and V values. To solve this equation for
by realizing that the constant volume parameter in Gay- the function kV(V), rst separate the variables, V on the
Lussacs law will change as the system volume changes. left and P on the right.
At constant volume, V1 the law might appear P = k1 T,
while at constant volume V2 it might appear P= k2 T. Denoting this variable constant volume by kV(V), rewrite V kV (V ) = P kP (P )
the law as
Choose any pressure P1 . The right side evaluates to some
arbitrary value, call it k .
P = kV (V ) T
V kV (V ) = karb
The same consideration applies to the constant in
Charless law, which may be rewritten
This particular equation must now hold true, not just for
one value of V, but for all values of V. The only denition
of k(V) that guarantees this for all V and arbitrary k is
V = kP (P ) T
In seeking to nd kV(V), one should not unthinkingly
eliminate T between (4) and (5), since P is varying in the
former while it is assumed constant in the latter. Rather,
it should rst be determined in what sense these equations
are compatible with one another. To gain insight into this,
recall that any two variables determine the third. Choosing P and V to be independent, we picture the T values
forming a surface above the PV plane. A denite V0 and
P0 dene a T0 , a point on that surface. Substituting these
values in (4) and (5), and rearranging yields

T0 =

P0
kV (V0 )

and

T0 =

V0
kP (P0 )

karb
V
which may be veried by substitution in (8).
kV (V ) =

Finally, substituting (9) in Gay-Lussacs law (4) and rearranging produces the combined gas law
PV
= karb
T
Note that while Boyles law was not used in this derivation, it is easily deduced from the result. Generally, any
two of the three starting laws are all that is needed in
this type of derivation all starting pairs lead to the same
combined gas law.[1]

Since these both describe what is happening at the same

point on the surface, the two numeric expressions can be
equated and rearranged

3 Applications

P0
kV (V0 )
=
kP (P0 )
V0

The combined gas law can be used to explain the mechanics where pressure, temperature, and volume are affected. For example: air conditioners, refrigerators and

3
the formation of clouds and also use in uid mechanics
and thermodynamics.

See also
Boyles law
Charless law
Gay-Lussacs law
Daltons law
Ideal gas law

Notes

[1] A similar derivation, one starting from Boyles law, may

be found in Ra, pp. 1415

Sources
Ra, Lionel. Principles of Physical Chemistry.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall 2001

External links
Interactive Java applet on the combined gas law by
Wolfgang Bauer

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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