Joey Tylka

CHE 133
2 Feb. 2016
Experiment 2: Gas Laws
Purpose
This experiment consisted of three separate parts and implemented the
measurement of the pressure, volume, and temperature of a gas mixture (air) to explore
the relationships that exist between these variables. Through the use of Vernier
equipment, such as the LabQuest interface and Logger Lite, measurements were taken to
examine how one variable changed while another was held constant. This data was then
used to generate equations of state by plotting the data in Excel. This graphical data was
ultimately used to determine the total number of moles of gas present for the second and
third parts of the lab, along with the proportionality constants between pressure and
volume, pressure and temperature, as well as volume and temperature.
Procedure
CHE 133 Experiment 2, General Chemistry II Lab., Winter Quarter 2016, DePaul
University. [Online] https://www.d2l.depaul.edu (February 2, 2016).

No deviations were made from the provided experimental procedure.

Data and Results

To begin the first part of the experiment, the plunger on the plastic syringe was
placed at 20 mL. The volume of the syringe along with the gass respective pressure
reading was recorded in Logger Lite. This process of setting the syringe volume and
recording its respective pressure measurement was continued for volumes decreasing in

increments of 1 mL until a volume of 12 mL was reached on the syringe. These volumes

we then altered to account for the additional volume held between the Vernier gas
pressure sensor and the syringe so that the total volume (!"#$% ) was found by adding 0.8
mL to the volume of the syringe (! ).
!"#$% = ! + 0.8 mL
!"#$% = 12 mL + 0.8 mL
!"#$% = 12.8 mL
The total volumes were then recorded with their respective pressures and
reciprocal volumes in Table 1.
Table 1: Pressure determination for a gas mixture (air) held at a constant temperature of
19.1C. The data in the table was reordered to remain consistent with volume in
ascending order.
Total
Volume
(mL)
12.8
13.8
14.8
15.8
16.8
17.8
18.8
19.8
20.8

Reciprocal
Volume
(mL-1)
0.0781
0.0724
0.0676
0.0633
0.0595
0.0562
0.0532
0.0505
0.0480

Pressure
(kPa)
159.989241
149.771277
138.768226
130.432104
122.900793
116.474128
110.512992
104.776729
100.437053

The total volumes and their respective pressures were then plotted on Figure 1.

180

Pressure (kPa)

160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
12

14

16

18

20

22

Volume (mL)

Figure 1: Relationship Between Volume and Pressure at a Constant Temperature of

19.1C.
The reciprocal volumes and their respective pressures were then plotted on Figure
2.
180

Pressure (kPa)

160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0.045

0.05

0.055

0.06

0.065

0.07

0.075

0.08

Reciprocal Volume (mL-1)

Figure 2: Relationship Between Reciprocal Volume and Pressure at a Constant

Temperature of 19.1C. The equation for the line of best fit was found to be
y = (2052.8 kPamL-1)x + 0.7256 kPa. A data point of 0,0 was included in the
determination of the line of best fit.

To begin the second part of the experiment, an air-filled Erlenmeyer flask was
submerged in a room-temperature water bath situated on top of a hotplate. The initial
temperature and pressure of the gas was taken via a thermometer residing in the water
and gas pressure sensor both connected to the LabQuest interface. With the volume of the
gas held constant at 146.8 mL, eight measurements of temperature and pressure of the gas
were collected every 5C for a using the Logger Lite program. The temperatures recorded
were converted to Kelvin (! ) from Celsius by adding 273.15 to the temperature initially
recorded in Celsius (! ).
! = ! + 273.15
! = 19.0385C + 273.15
! = 292.19 K
The constant volume of the gas was found by adding 4.8 mL, which accounted for
the volume of the tube and space between the tube and the gas pressure sensor, to the
volume of the flask (! ).
!"#$% = ! + 4.8 mL
! = 142 mL + 4.8 mL
! = 147 mL
The absolute temperatures along with their respective pressures were then
recorded in Table 2.

Table 2: Pressure determination for a gas mixture (air) held at constant volume of
146.8 mL.
Temperature
(K)
298.16
303.12
308.14
313.13
318.18
323.13
328.13
333.13

Pressure
(kPa)
101.553534
103.103981
104.709661
106.299561
107.834228
109.479360
110.986411
112.659159

The absolute temperatures and their respective pressures were then plotted on
Figure 3.
120

Pressure (kPa)

100
80
60
40
20
0
295

300

305

310

315

320

325

330

335

340

Absolute Temperature (K)

Figure 3: Relationship Between Absolute Temperature and Pressure at a Constant

Volume of 146.8 mL. The equation for the line of best fit was determined to be
y = (0.339 kPa K-1)x + 0.0739 kPa. A data point of 0,0 was included in the determination
of the line of best fit.

During the third part of the experiment, the temperature of the gas and respective
volume of the syringe was collected at a constant pressure of approximately 93.91 kPa
using Logger Lite. The volume of the syringe was then converted to reflect the total
volume of the system and the temperatures were converted from Celsius to Kelvin. The
total volume and the absolute temperatures were then recorded in Table 3.
Table 3: Volume determination for a gas mixture (air) held at a constant pressure of
93.91 kPa.
Temperature
Total Volume
(mL)
(K)
273.38
276.33
279.34
282.35
285.34
288.33
291.33
294.36
297.33
300.35
303.39
306.45
308.20

146.8
147.9
149.7
151.6
152.8
154.1
155.6
157.0
158.7
159.8
161.0
162.7
163.5

The absolute temperatures and their respective volumes were then plotted on
Figure 4.

180
160
Volume (mL)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
270

275

280

285

290

295

300

305

310

315

Absolute Temperature (K)

Figure 4: Relationship Between Absolute Temperature and Volume at a Constant

Pressure of 93.91 kPa. The equation for the line of best fit was determined to be
y = (0.5327 mL K-1)x + 0.2938 mL. A data point of 0,0 was included in the
determination of the line of best fit.
Discussion
The results obtained in the experiment remained constant with the Ideal Gas Law
so that the gas behaved in a predictable manner when one variable was held constant. The
plots created from the data obtained during the experiment held true to expectations. This
means that the plot for pressure vs. volume was curved, while the plots for pressure vs.
reciprocal volume, pressure vs. absolute temperature, and total volume vs. absolute
temperature were linear.
The proportionality constant for the first part of the experiment (k) was found by
multiplying the initial total volume of the gas (V) by its respective pressure (P).
=
= 159.989241 kPa 0.0128 L
= 2.05 kPa L
This yielded a result of 2.05 kPaL.

The proportionality constant for the second part of the experiment (k) was found
by dividing the initial pressure of the gas (P) by its respective absolute temperature (T).
=
=

101.553534 kPa
298.16 K

= 0.34060

kPa
K

This yielded a result of 0.34060 kPaK-1.

The proportionality constant for the third part of the experiment (k) was found by
dividing the initial volume of the gas (V) by its respective absolute temperature (T).
=
=

0.1468 L
273.38 K

= 5.370 10!!

L
K

This yielded a result of 5.370 LK-1.

The total number of moles present in the system for the second part of the
experiment was calculated through dimensional analysis. This resulted in a total number
of 0.00655 moles. This answer is reasonable due to the fact that 1 mol of gas has a
volume of 22.4 L at STP. The quantity of moles calculated from this information was less
than 1.0 mol which is appropriate for a volume of 146.8 mL.
Possible sources of error include inaccurate data with regards to the volume,
temperature, and pressure of the gas. Other possible sources of error include failure to
hold each respective variable constant when necessary.