Gas properties
In this internet-based activity, students investigate gas compressibility and gas expansion in a quantitative way. The end result will be an appreciation of Boyle’s Law and Charles’s Law.
The general gas law
For a fixed amount of gas, the relationships between gas volume, gas temperature and gas pressure can be combined to give the equation known as the general gas law.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
work with internet-based animations (Boyle’s Law and Charles’s Law) that allow scientific data to be recorded
describe in qualitative terms the relationship between the pressure exerted on a sample of gas at fixed temperature and its volume
develop a qualitative understanding of Boyle’s Law into a mathematical form of the law
describe in qualitative terms the relationship between the volume of a sample of gas and the temperature it is subjected to
use the Kelvin temperature scale
develop a qualitative understanding of Charles’s Law into a mathematical form of the law.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
student handout.
Related content
These articles below will help gain a basic knowledge and understanding of ideas and concepts that are fundamental to gases and plasmas.
Timeline – History of gases and plasmas- this provides a brief historical aspects in the development of our understanding of gases and plasmas.
Useful link
This YouTube video provides an overview of the basics of Boyle's Law, Charles' Law and Gay Lussac's Gas Laws. Includes is an introduction to calculations using each law's equation.
