Boyle's Law Problem
1. A 200 mL sample of hydrogen gas is collected when the pressure is 800 mmHg. What is volume will the gas occupy at 760 mmHg?
2. A gas occupies 1.56 L at 1.00 atm. What will be the volume of the gas if the pressure becomes 3.00 atm?
Answers & Comments
Answer:
The new pressure will be
1000 L
, rounded to one significant figure.
Explanation:
Boyle's law states that when a gas is held at a constant temperature and mass in a closed container, the volume and pressure vary inversely. The equation to use is
P
1
V
1
=
P
2
V
2
.
Given
V
1
=
200
mL
×
1
L
1000
mL
=
0.2 L
P
1
=
700 mmHg
V
2
=
100
mL
×
1
L
1000
mL
=
0.1 L
Unknown
P
2
Equation
P
1
V
1
=
P
2
V
2
Solution
Rearrange the equation to isolate
P
2
and solve.
P
2
=
P
1
V
1
V
2
P
2
=
(
700
mmHg
×
0.2
L
)
0.1
L
=
1400 L
, which must be rounded to
1000 L
because all of the measurements have only one significant figure.