Chapter 4

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34
Heat

Gas Laws (I)

Boyleʼs Law
For a fixed mass of gas, the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional to the volume
of the gas at constant temperature.
Load
Piston
Gas
molecules
Cylinder

As a fixed volume of gas is As the piston of a bicycle pump

The random collisions
of gas molecules with
the wall of a container
exert a pressure on it.
compressed, its volume decreases
but its pressure increases because
the rate of collision of gas
molecules with the cylinder wall
increases.
is pushed down, the volume of
gas decreases and the pressure
increases. The increase in gas
pressure enables gas to pump
through a nozzle to a bicycle tyre.

Boyleʼs Law Experiment

Atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure = 76 cm Hg
Pressure of the trapped air, p = (76 + h) cm Hg
Glass tube Volume of the trapped air, V∝l
Glass
tube Mercury Varying the mercury column h will vary the
Trapped l h air pressure and hence volume or l of the
air trapped air column.
Mercury
The graph shows that
P
p ∝1 (cm Hg)
l
Rubber Hence,
tube p ∝1
V
pV = constant
1
or p1V1 = p2V2 l (cm )
–1

Question The pressure of a bubble under the sea surface is 120 cm Hg. When
the bubble rises to the surface of the sea, its volume becomes 25.0 cm3.
Assuming that the atmospheric pressure is 76 cm Hg and there is no
change in temperature, what is the original volume of the bubble?
Solution p1V1 = p2V2
(120)V1 = (76)(25.0)
∴ original volume of bubble V1 = 15.8 cm3

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