Ideal Gas Law

Pre-Lab Questions

1. Use Table 1 to solve problems 1a – 1c.

a. Create a graph of x vs. y.

Table 1: Ordered Pairs

b. Mathematically determine if the relationship between x and y is direct (y = kx) or inverse (y = k/x). Show your work.

c. Determine the value of constant, k. Show your work.

2. Use Table 2 to solve problems 2a – 2c.

a. Create a graph of x vs. y.

Table 2: Ordered Pairs

b. Mathematically determine if the relationship between x and y is direct (y = kx) or inverse (y = k/x). Show your work.

c. Determine the value of constant, k. Show your work.

3. A typical tire pressure is 45 pounds per square inch (psi). Convert the units of pressure from psi to kilopascals.

Hint: 1 psi = 6900 pascal.

Experiment 1: Charles’ Law

Data Sheet

Table 3: Temperature vs. Volume of Gas Data

Post-Lab Questions

1. Use a pencil and graph paper to create a graph of temperature and volume data. Place temperature (remember to use degrees Celsius) on the x-axis and volume (mL) on the y-axis. Leave room on the left side of your chart for temperature values below zero.

2. What happened to the volume of gas when the syringe was exposed to various temperature conditions? Using the concepts explored in the Introduction, describe why this occurred, keeping in mind the definition of temperature.

3. Using a ruler, draw a straight line of best fit through your data points, extrapolating the line until it intersects the (negative) x-axis. Why can you assume a linear relationship (a straight-lined slope)?

4. At what temperature does your line intersect the x-axis? What volume corresponds to this temperature?

5. Would it be possible to cool a real gas down to zero volume? Why or why not? What do you think would happen before that volume was reached?

6. Is your measurement of absolute zero close to the actual value (-273 °C)? Calculate a percent error. How might you change the experiment to get closer to the actual value?

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