Boyle’s Law
The relationship between the volume and pressure of gases at constant
temperature was first stated by Robert Boyle during the 16th century. He
performed an experiment wherein he trapped a fixed amount of air in the J-
tube, he changed the pressure and controlled the temperature and then, he
observed its effect to the volume of the air inside the J-tube. He found out
that as the pressure is increased, the volume decreases. He finally
concluded that the volume of a fixed amount of gas is inversely proportional
to its pressure at constant temperature.
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
The observations in Activity 2 can be expressed in the Boyle’s Law equation:
Where:
V = volume, P = pressure, T = temperature and n = amount of the gas.
How will you read the above sited equation? It is read as: The volume of a gas is inversely
proportional to its pressure, if temperature and amount of a gas are held constant. It can also be read
as: At constant temperature, the volume occupied by a fixed amount of gas is directly proportional to
the reciprocal of pressure (1/P).
Let’s take a look at the equation again and try to change the proportionality sign (α ) with the equal
sign (=).
The product of Pressure and Volume is constant
According to Boyle’s Law, PV= k therefore:
The inflated balloon that slipped from the hand of Renn has a volume of 0.50 L at sea level (1.0 atm)
and it reached a height of approximately 8 km where the atmospheric pressure is approximately 0.33
atm. Assuming that the temperature is constant, compute for the final volume of the balloon.
Oxygen gas inside a 1.5 L gas tank has a pressure of 0.95 atm. Provided that the temperature
remains constant, how much pressure is needed to reduce its volume by ½?
Charles’ Law
The volume - temperature relationship in gases (k = V/T) was determined
by and named after Jacques Charles. In his experiment, Jacques Charles
trapped a sample of gas in a cylinder with a movable piston in water bath at
different temperatures. Jacques Charles found out that different gases
decreased their volume by factors 1/273 per °C of cooling. With this rate of
reduction, if gas will be cooled up to -273°C, it will have zero volume!
Interesting, isn’t it? Charles’ Law states that at constant pressure, the volume
of a fixed amount Jacques Charles of gas is directly proportional to the Kelvin
(K) temperature.
Mathematically, Charles’ Law can be expressed as:
V α T at constant P
Where: V = volume and
T = temperature expressed in Kelvin
Why is there a need to convert °C to K? Kelvin is the basic unit for measuring temperature in the
International System (SI). “It denotes the absolute temperature scale whereby 0K or absolute zero is
defined as the temperature when molecules will have the lowest energy.”
Removing the proportionality symbol (α) and using the equality sign (=) the equation will be as
follows:
Thus, in a direct proportion, the quotient of the variable is constant. If you are going to consider the
initial and final conditions, you will arrive at the following equations:
Whereas, V1 is the initial volume and V2 is the final volume T1 is the initial temperature and T2 is the
final temperature If the volume-temperature ratios are the same in the initial and final conditions, then
we will arrive at this equation:
Sample Problem:
1. 3. At 20°C, the volume of chlorine gas is 15 dm3. Compute for the resulting volume if the
temperature is adjusted to 318K provided that the pressure remains the same.
2. A tank ( not rigid) contains 2.3 L of helium gas at 25°C. What will be the volume of the tank after
heating it and its content to 40°C temperature at constant pressure?
