Gas Laws
Science is all about making observations and exploring new things. For this purpose, many scientists struggled to discover new phenomena in the past two centuries.
Through their continual efforts, we learned the science and logic behind almost all the natural events today.
Since matter - any entity that occupies space and possesses some mass- is the basic entity known to scientists, all the research revolves around it. As we all know, there are four basic states of matter; Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Plasma.
Related: Find what is a chemical reaction along with its types.
Among all these states, the state that possesses completely different features from other states is gas. That's why several scientists spent so much time studying the behavior of gases by various methods in their periods.
When tested, these observations earned the status of laws that we know today as GAS LAWS IN CHEMISTRY. These laws describe the behavior of gases in different conditions of temperature, pressure, and volume.
Related: Find out ways to balance chemical equations step by step.
What are the five gas laws?
Five main gas laws in chemistry are considered completely authentic and describe the major behavior of gases in varied environments. These five gas laws are as follows.
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Boyle's Law
Boyle's Law is named after the scientist Robert Boyle. This Law shows the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas when the temperature is kept constant. According to it, the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume at a constant temperature.
In simple words, when the pressure over gas increases, its molecules get closer to each other on compressing. Thus, its volume decreases.
However, this condition can only be achieved when the temperature is constant. Otherwise, the effect of the varying temperature might change the behavior. Boyle's Law can be written mathematically, such as
Pressure ∝ 1/volume
T = Constant
P ∝ 1/V
To replace the proportionality constant, we will replace the 1 with K, such as
P ∝ K/VOn rearranging the equation, it would become
PV = KRelated: Find out ways through which you can balance redox reactions in a basic solution.
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Charles Law
Charles's Law is named after the scientist J. A. C. Charles, and it shows the relationship between temperature and volume of a gas when the pressure is kept constant. According to it, the temperature of a gas is directly proportional to its volume at constant pressure.
As the temperature of a gas is increased, the molecules of gas get enough kinetic energy to free up from intermolecular forces. The gas molecules will become more distant from each other, and thus, the volume of that gas will increase.
Again, the pressure should be kept constant to observe this behavior. Mathematically, we can write Charle's Law as follow.
V ∝ T
P = Constant
To remove the proportionality sign, we will add a proportionality constant in the equation, such as
V = KTOn rearranging the equation, it would become
V/T = KRelated: How to balance complex chemical equations and demonstration of single/double beam spectrophotometer.
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Gay Lussac's Law
Gay Lussac's Law is named after French scientist Joseph Louis Gay Lussac. The interesting thing about this law is that he accidentally discovered it when he was busy making an air thermometer.
This Law explains the relationship between pressure and temperature of a gas at a fixed volume. According to it, gas pressure is directly proportional to its temperature when the volume is constant. Mathematically, we can write Gay lussac's Law such as
P ∝ T
V = Constant
P = KT
P/T = K
Related: Learn about endothermic and exothermic reactions and general chemical equations.
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Avogadro's Law
Amedeo Avogadro studied the relationship between the volume and number of moles of gas by keeping the observations of Gay Lussac's Law and John Dalton in front.
According to Avogadro's Law, all gases possess an equal number of molecules and, thus, the same volume at constant temperature and pressure.
In other words, the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its number of molecules at constant temperature and pressure. Mathematically, Avogadro's Law can be written as
V ∝ n
V = Kn
Related: Learn about the reaction of sodium chloride and what happens when molecules are placed under voltage in magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
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Ideal Gas Law
Ideal Gas Law combined all the four gas laws and was first proposed by Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron. It shows the behavior of ideal gases. Plus, by using this law, we can also approximate the nature of real gases.
By combining mathematical forms of the first four laws, we get the equation-of-state such as
PV = nRTIn this combined gas law equation, n is the number of moles, and R is the general or universal gas constant.
Related: Learn the splitting reaction by capillary electrophoresis and synthesis reaction in chemistry.
Online calculators of Equation Balancer
This website also provides a lot of chemistry calculators. These calculators are:
- An Oxidation number calculator with steps helps you find the oxidation state with a solution.
- Balancing redox equations calculator allows you to find half-reaction and oxidation-reduction.
- The Mass percentage composition calculator enables you to find the composition's mass percentage.
- The Percent yield chemistry calculator helps you find the yield percentage of a chemical reaction.
- The Theoretical yield chemistry calculator helps you find the theoretical yield of a chemical reaction.
- The Molecular weight mass calculator allows you to find the compound molecular mass of an element.
- Acid base titration calculator online helps you to do quantitative chemical analysis of concentration.
- Protons neutrons electrons calculator allows you to find the atomic mass and mass number online.
Final Words
All these gas laws show how gases perform in different environments. These laws might seem confusing, but they are greatly important in our daily lives.
By these gas laws, we get a perfect illustration of how our breathing pattern, movement of vehicles, and even the natural events could alter by experiencing slight changes in temperature and pressure.
Related: Complete demonstration of metal displacement reaction in an aqueous medium.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gas laws are there?
The five main gas laws in chemistry are Boyle's Law, Charle's Law, Gay Lussac's Law, Avogadro's Law and Ideal Gas Law.
Can you use the ideal gas law for liquids?
The ideal gas law isn't applied to liquids because the liquid has a constant volume. The ideal gas law equation is PV = nRT.
What gas law is applied in breathing?
Boyle's Law is applied in breathing because pressure and volume are always inversely proportional at a given temperature of a gas. While breathing, the pressure in the lung decreases and volume of the lung increases and the air in the atmosphere fills in the lungs.
What gas law is applied in pressure cooker?
Ideal Gas Law is applied in a pressure cooker which is PV = nRT. As per ideal gas law, the pressure*volume = number of moles of a gas*gas constant*temperature.
What gas law is the hot air balloon?
Charles' Law applies in the case of a hot air balloon. When a hot air balloon rises through the sky, the pressure decreases and the volume of the balloon increases. This helps lift the hot air balloon.
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