Gas Laws

Callorina, Hiram Samuel B.

Cruz, Erika Laine B.
Defiesta, Vince Evan R.

De La Salle University - Dasmarias
Dasmarias, Cavite

ABSTRACT

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, elemental molecules made from one type of atom,
or compound molecules made from a variety of atoms. An ideal gas is a theoretical gas composed of a
set of randomly moving, non-interacting point particles. The ideal gas concept is useful because it obeys
the ideal gas law, a simplified equation of state, and is amenable to analysis under statistical mechanics.
a perfect gas is a theoretical gas that differs from real gases in a way that makes certain calculations
easier to handle. Its behavior is more simplified compared to an ideal gas. (2)


INTRODUCTION
The early gas laws were developed at the end of the 18th century, when scientists began to
realize that relationships between the pressure, volume and temperature of a sample of gas could be
obtained which would hold for all gases. Gases behave in a similar way over a wide variety of conditions
because to a good approximation they all have molecules which are widely spaced, and nowadays the
equation of state for an ideal gas is derived from kinetic theory.
The earlier gas laws are now considered as special cases of the ideal gas equation, with one or
more of the variables held constant. The ideal gas law is the result of the combination of Avogadros Law
and Combined Gas Law. Avogadros Law relates the volume of a gas to its number of moles. The ideal
gas law is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a good approximation to the behavior of
many gases under many conditions. Another law, which is Charles Law, relates the volume of a gas to its
temperature. On the other hand, Boyles Law relates volume of a gas to its pressure. When combined,
Charles Law and Boyles Law results to the Combined Gas Law.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In testing the Combined Gas Law, the group took a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask with a rubber
stopper and a glass tube and rubber tubing attached to it. A boiling setup was now made using an iron
stand, iron ring, tirrill burner, iron clamp, clamp holder, and a beaker that was 2/3 full of water. The flask
was submerged in the water and was boiled. After boiling for five minutes, the temperature of the boiling
water from the beaker was measured and was recorded as T1. While the water was boiling, the rubber
tubing was folded and was clamped tightly. The flask was removed from the boiling setup and was
immediately submerged, with the stopper pointing downward, in a pneumatic trough filled with water at
room temperature. After 3 to 4 minutes, the clamp was released and a little amount of water entered the
flask. This represents the decrease in volume that occurred when the entrapped air cooled to the
temperature of the water in the basin. The temperature of water in the basin was measured and was
recorded as T2. The clamp was placed back on the tubing and the flask was raised. The water in the flask
was transferred to a graduated cylinder and measured. It was recorded as V2
observed.
The initial volume
of the flask was recorded by filling it with water and transferring it to a graduated cylinder. Given the data,
V2 was calculated and was recorded as V2
calculated.
V2
observed
was calculated by subtracting V2
observed
from
V1. The percent difference was calculated.
In testing the Law of Diffusion, one cotton ball was dipped in a conc. HCl solution and another
one in a concentrated NH
4
OH solution. At the same time, the two cotton balls were placed on the
opposite ends of a glass tube. The time it took to form a white ring was recorded. The distance of the
white ring from the HCl and NH
3
was measured and recorded. The rate of diffusion of HCl and NH
3
were
calculated. The observed ratio and calculated ratio were computed too.

RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

The experiment aims to understand the principles of the Combined Gas Law and Grahams Law
of Diffusion. And the first table shows the data and results gathered under the Combined Gas Law.

Combined Gas Law
Temperature of boiling water (T
1
) 373 K
Temperature of water in the basin (T
2
) 303 K
Volume of water drawn in flask (V
2 observed
) 76 mL
Volume of air in the flask at T
1,
(V
1
) 150 mL
Barometric Pressure (P
1
) 760 mmHg
Vapor pressure of water at T
2,
(P
water
) 31.8 mmHg
Partial pressure of dry air (P
2
) 728.2 mmHg
Calculated volume of air in the flask at T
2
(V
2
calculated
)
127.17 mL
V
2
observed 74 mL
% difference 53%
Table 1. Results in Combined Gas Law

Combined Gas Law is the combination of the three gas laws such as Boyles law, Charless law
and Gay-Lussacs law. The combined gas law provides us with a method of comparison and analysis of
various gases at widely varying times and conditions. The combined gas law involves two other laws the
ideal gas law and the clinical gas law. The combined gas law equation is given below.

P
1
V
1
/ T
1
= P
2
V
2
/ T
2

Wherein: P = pressure is expressed in atmosphere or Torr or mm Hg.
V = volume expressed in Liters (L).
T = temperature expressed in kelvin (K).
Boyle's law states that for a fixed mass of gas at a constant temperature, the volume is inversely
proportional to the pressure. While Charless law states the directly proportional relationship of volume to
temperature in kelvins (K). Lastly, Gay-Lussacs law shows the direct proportionality if pressure of an
ideal gas to its absolute temperature. The interdependence of these three variables implies that the
pressure-volume product and the temperature of the system remains constant.
In the experiment, T
1
represents the initial temperature of the boiling water (boiling point) which is
100 C or 373 K. Then, T
2
represents the final temperature that was measured from the temperature of
the basin where the boiled flask was placed. Then, V
2 observed
was determined by measuring the volume
of water that entered the flask while being submerge in the basin. V
1
then represents the actual volume of
the flask and P
1
indicates the barometric pressure. The vapor pressure of water at T
2
was determined and
was labeled as P
water
. Then, the V
2
was calculated using the given variables and the formula for
Combined Gas Law. Lastly, its % difference was calculated.
The second part of the experiment made shows the movement of two gases in a glass tube
forming a white ring that explains the Grahams Law of Diffusion.

Grahams Law
Time required for white ring to appear 6 mins
Distance of white ring from HCl end 23.5 cm
Diffusion Rate of HCl 3.92 cm/min
Distance of the white ring from NH
3
end 31 cm
Diffusion Rate of NH
3
5.25 cm/min
Observed diffusion rate ratio 0.75
Calculated diffusion rate ratio 0.68
% difference 8.7%
Table 2. Results on Grahams Law

Hydrogen chloride and ammonia diffuse from opposite ends of a long tube. They meet and react
to produce ammonium chloride, a white solid powder. The distances of the white powder (ring) from either
end of the tube are measured, and the ratio compared with a predicted ratio from Graham's Law. The
experiment is not expected to give close quantitative agreement between calculated and observed
values, but the ammonia does diffuse faster than the HCl, as expected.
Diffusion is the spreading of gases to occupy all the space available to them. A gas will diffuse
even if another gas is present in the same space. The molecules of gases are far enough apart to allow
other gas molecules to fit in between. The rate at which a gas diffuses is directly proportional to the
average speed of its molecules: the faster molecules diffuse at a faster rate.(3) The rates depend on the
molar masses. The lesser the molar mass of the gas, the faster it diffuses.

REFERENCES
(1) Samonte & Figueroa 2014. General Chemistry Laboratory Manual 4
th
Edition Philippines: C & E
Publishing
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_laws
(3) Retrieved from: chemistry.about.com
(4) Retrieved from: http://chemmovies.unl.edu/chemistry/dochem/DoChem080.html