Electrical Engineering
Materials CFL TE2206
Gas Laws - 4.7.1
Gases
• A gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter the others being
solid, liquid, and plasma. A pure gas may be made up of individual
atoms for example noble gas neon, elemental molecules made
from one type of atom for example oxygen or compound molecules
made from a variety of atoms for example carbon dioxide.
• Properties of a gas:
• Uniformly fills any container.
• Easily compressed.
• Mixes completely with any other gas.
• Exerts pressure on its surroundings.
Physical Characteristics of
Physical GasesTypical Units
Characteristics
Volume, V liters (L)
Pressure, P atmosphere
(1 atm = 1.015x105
N/m2)
Temperature, T Kelvin (K)
Number of atoms or mole (1 mol =
molecules, n 6.022x1023 atoms or
Measuring Pressure
force
Pr essure =
area
SI units = Newton/meter2 = 1 Pascal (Pa)
1 standard atmosphere = 101,325 Pa
1 standard atmosphere = 1 atm =
760 mm Hg = 760 torr
Barometer
• Device used to measure
atmospheric pressure.
• Mercury flows out of the
tube until the pressure
of the column of
mercury standing on the
surface of the mercury
in the dish is equal to
the pressure of the air
on the rest of the
surface of the mercury
in the dish.
Manometer
• Device used for
measuring the pressure of
a gas in a container.
Pressure Conversions Example
• The pressure of a gas is measured as 2.5 atm.
Represent this pressure in both torr and pascals.
760 torr
2.5 atm
= 1.9 10 3
torr
1 atm
101,325 Pa
2.5 atm
= 2.5 10 5
Pa
1 atm
Boyle’s Law
The volume of a fixed quantity of gas at constant
temperature is inversely proportional to the
pressure.
P and V are
inversely proportional
• A plot of V versus P results in an
inverse graph
• Therefore is the pressure is
doubled, the volume will be
halved.
Boyle’s Law Practice Question
• If I have 5.6 liters of gas in a piston at a pressure of 1.5 atm and
compress the gas until its volume is 4.8 L, what will the new pressure
inside the piston be?
P1V1 = P2V2
(1.5 atm)(5.6 L) = (x)(4.8 L)
x = 1.8 atm
Charles’s Law
• The volume of a fixed
amount of gas at constant
pressure is directly
proportional to its absolute
temperature in Kelvins.
• i.e., V =k
T
A plot of V versus T will be a straight line.
Charles’s Law Practice Question
• If I have 45 liters of helium in a balloon at 250 C and increase the
temperature of the balloon to 550 C, what will the new volume of the
balloon be?
45 L x
298 K 328 K
x 50 L
Avogadro’s Law
• The volume of a gas at constant temperature and pressure
is directly proportional to the number of moles of the gas.
• V1/n1 = V2/n2
• Mathematically, this means V = kn
Avagadro’s Law Practice
Problem
A 6.0 L sample at 25 °C and 2.00 atm of pressure contains 0.5 moles of
a gas. If an additional 0.25 moles of gas at the same pressure and
temperature are added, what is the final total volume of the gas?
Vf = (6.0 L x 0.75 moles)/0.5 moles
Vf = 4.5 L/0.5 Vf = 9 L
Ideal Gases
• An ideal gas is a hypothetical concept. No gas exactly
follows the ideal gas law.
• We must correct for non-ideal gas behavior when:
• Pressure of the gas is high.
• Temperature is low.
• Under these conditions:
• Concentration of gas particles is high.
• Attractive forces become important.
Ideal Gases
An “ideal” gas exhibits certain theoretical properties.
Specifically, an ideal gas …
• Obeys all of the gas laws under all conditions.
• Does not condense into a liquid when cooled.
• Shows perfectly straight lines when its V and T & P
and T relationships are plotted on a graph.
In reality, there are no gases that fit this definition
perfectly. We assume that gases are ideal to simplify
our calculations.
We have done calculations using several gas laws
(Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law, Combined Gas Law).
There is one more to know…
The Ideal Gas Law
PV = nRT
P = Pressure (in kPa) V = Volume (in L)
T = Temperature (in K) n = moles
R = 8.31 kPa • L
K • mol
R is constant. If we are given three of P, V, n,
or T, we can solve for the unknown value.
Recall, From Boyle’s Law:
P1V1 = P2V2 or PV = constant
From combined gas law:
P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2 or PV/T = constant
Developing the ideal gas law equation
PV/T = constant. What is the constant?
At STP: T= 273K, P= 101.3 kPa, V= 22.4 L/mol
Because V depends on mol, PV = constant
we can change equation to: T • mol
Mol is represented by n, PV = R
constant by R: Tn
Rearranging, we get: PV = nRT
At STP: (101.3 kPa)(22.4 L) = (1 mol)(R)(273K)
R = 8.31 kPa • L Note: always use kPa, L, K,
K • mol and mol in ideal gas law
questions (so units cancel)
Ideal-Gas Equation
• So far we’ve seen that
V 1/P (Boyle’s law)
V T (Charles’s law)
V n (Avogadro’s law)
• Combining these, we get
nT
V
P
Ideal-Gas Equation
The relationship
nT
V
P
then becomes nT
V=R
P
or
PV = nRT
Ideal-Gas Equation
The constant of
proportionality is known
as R, the gas constant.
Plots of PV/nRT Versus P for
Several Gases (200 K)
Plots of PV/nRT Versus P for
Nitrogen Gas at Three
Temperatures
Differences Between Ideal and Real Gases
Ideal Gas Real Gas
Obey PV=nRT Always Only at very
low P and
high T
Molecular Zero Small but
volume nonzero
Molecular Zero Small
attractions
Molecular Zero Small
repulsions
Ideal Gas Law Practice
Questions
• If I have 4 moles of a gas at a pressure of 5.6 atm and a volume of 12
L, what is the temperature?
PV=nRT
205 K
Ideal Gas Law Practice Questions
How many moles of H2 is in a 3.1 L sample of H2 measured
at 300 kPa and 20°C?
PV = nRT P = 300 kPa, V = 3.1 L, T = 293 K
(300 kPa)(3.1 L) = n (8.31 kPa•L/K•mol)(293 K)
(300 kPa)(3.1 L) = n = 0.38 mol
(8.31 kPa•L/K•mol)(293 K)
How many grams of O2 are in a 315 mL container that has a
pressure of 12 atm at 25°C?
PV = nRT P= 1215.9 kPa, V= 0.315 L, T= 298 K
(1215.9 kPa)(0.315 L) = n = 0.1547 mol
(8.31 kPa•L/K•mol)(298 K) 0.1547 mol x 32 g/mol =
4.95 g
Densities of Gases
If we divide both sides of the ideal-gas equation by V and by RT, we
get
n P
=
V RT
Densities of Gases
• We know that
• moles molecular mass = mass
n=m
• So multiplying both sides by the
molecular mass ( ) gives
m P
=
V RT
Densities of Gases
• Mass volume = density
• So,
m P
d= =
V RT
• Note: One only needs to know the
molecular mass, the pressure, and the
temperature to calculate the density of
a gas.
Molecular Mass
We can manipulate the density equation to enable
us to find the molecular mass of a gas:
P
d=
RT
Becomes
dRT
= P
Dalton’s Law
The total pressure in a container is
the sum of the pressure each gas
would exert if it were alone
in the container.
The total pressure is the sum of the
partial pressures.
PTotal = P1 + P2 + P3 + P4 + P5 ...
(For each gas P = nRT/V) John Dalton
Chemist & Physicist
Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England
September 6, 1766 – July 27, 1844
Dalton’s Law
Practice Questions
• Q1.State and explain the Boyle’s law
• Q2.-This equation P1V1 = P2V2 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. 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?
• Q3-A fixed amount of a gas occupies a volume of 10 litres and exerts a pressure of 400 kPa on
the walls of its container. What would be the pressure exerted by the gas if it is completely
transferred into a new container having a volume of 200 litres (assuming the temperature and
quantity of gas remains constant)?
• Q4-State the Ideal gas law
• (ii) Suppose an oxygen molecule at 200 K at P =1 atm has a molecular diameter of
• d= 150 pm. Calculate λ and v. (Hint take f = speed of the molecule/mean free path = v /λ)
• Q5. State Dalton`s Law
