11: Boyle’s Law
- Page ID
- 506219
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)The purpose of this experiment is to:
- A gas pressure sensor and a gas syringe measure the pressure of an air sample at several different volumes.
- Determine the relationship between pressure and volume of the gas.
- Describe the relationship between gas pressure and volume in a mathematical equation.
- Use the results to predict the pressure at other volumes.
INTRODUCTION
British scientist Robert Boyle, in 1662, found that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume, provided the number of moles of gas and the temperature remain constant. Mathematically, Boyle's law can be stated as:
P \(\propto\) 1/V Pressure is inversely proportional to the volume
Or
PV = k Pressure multiplied by volume equals some constant k
Where P is the pressure of the gas, V is the volume of the gas, and k is a constant.
Boyle's Law states that the product of pressure and volume is constant when the number of moles and temperature of a gas are held constant.
When comparing the same gas under two different sets of conditions of volume and pressure at constant temperature and number of moles, Boyle's law can also be expressed as:
P1V1 = P2V2
P1 and P2 are the initial changes in gas pressure at volumes V1 and V2, respectively.
The gas pressure can be expressed in different units, such as Atmospheres (atm), Millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), Torr, and Pascals. The standard unit of pressure is the atmosphere, and the SI unit is the pascal (Pa). A pascal is defined as a pressure of one newton per square meter. This unit is inconveniently small for many purposes, and kilopascal (kPa) is more commonly used.
1 atm = 760 mm Hg = 760 Torr = 101325 Pa = 101.3 kpa.
The volume of a gas can also be expressed in various units, such as liters (L), milliliters (mL), cubic meters (m³), and cubic centimeters (cm³).
In this experiment, you will measure the pressure of a sample of air at several different volumes. You will also graph pressure versus the reciprocal of volume (1/V) to demonstrate that pressure is inversely proportional to the volume of a gas. This indicates that as the volume increases, gas pressure decreases proportionally, and vice versa.

Figure 1: Syringe connected to the Vernier gas pressure sensor.
The primary objective of this experiment is to determine the relationship between the pressure and volume of a confined gas. We will use air confined to a syringe connected to a Gas Pressure Sensor.
When the volume of the syringe is changed by moving the piston, a change occurs in the pressure exerted by the confined gas. This pressure change will be monitored using a Gas Pressure Sensor. It is assumed that the temperature will be constant throughout the experiment. Pressure and volume data pairs will be collected and analyzed during this experiment. From the data and graph, you should be able to determine the mathematical relationship between the pressure and volume of the confined gas.


