Gas Laws: Pressure,

Volume, Temperature and

Number of Moles
 Opening thoughts…

Have you ever:

Seen a hot air balloon?

Had a soda bottle spray all over you?

Baked (or eaten) a nice, fluffy cake?

These are all examples of gases at work!

Properties of Gases
You can predict the behavior of gases
based on the following properties:
Pressure
Volume
Amount (moles)
Temperature
Lets review each of these briefly…
 Gases:

Gas- state of matter that

has particles that are
freely moving and are
widely far from each other
- highly
compressible
- have undefined
shape and volume.
 Properties of Gases
1. Gases can completely fill up the container in which
they are placed due to their undefined shape and
volume.
2. Two or more gases can be readily mixed evenly and
completely when combined because gases diffuse
very rapidly
3. The wide spaces between gas particles make gases
compressible and expandable depending on the
pressure applied to it. Gases expand when pressure
is reduced. Gases compresses when pressure is
increased.
 Properties of Gases
4. Gases are less dense compared to other states of
matter. The density of air is 0.0012g/cm3.
5. Gases have mass
6. Gases exert constant uniform pressure in all directions
that are measurable such as volume, pressure,
temperature, and amount of the gas or number of moles.
 Volume
Volume is the three-dimensional
space inside the container holding the
gas.

• Denoted by the symbol “V”

• Its SI unit is liters (L). It can also
expressed in millimeter ( mL),
cubic centimeter (cm3), cubic
meter (m3) and cubic decimeter
(dcm3)
 Conversion of Units

 1 liter= 1000 milliliter

 1 milliliter= 1 cubic centimeter
 1 liter= 1,000 cubic centimeter

1 L= 1000mL= 1000cm3
 Pressure

• Pressure of the gas is “the

force exerted by the gas
per unit area”
• Denoted by the symbol
“P”
When you inflate a balloon, it
• P= FORCE/ AREA expands because molecules of
gases strike the walls of the
balloon, causing pressure on it.
 Pressure

• Other units of pressure are atmpsphere ( atm ),

millimeter of mercury ( mmHg ), torr , bar,
kilopascal (kPa), and pounds per square inch
(psi)

1atm= 760 mmHg= 760 torr= 1.01325

bar= 101.325 kPa = 101.325 x 103 Nm-2
Pressure
• If you’ve ever inflated a tire,
you’ve probably made a
pressure measurement in
pounds (force) per square inch
(area).

• An instrument barometer is used to

measure atmospheric pressure.
• A manometer , on the other hand, is
used to measure gas pressure
other than atm.
 Temperature
Temperature is the measurement of heat…or how
fast the particles are moving. Gases, at room
temperature, have a lower boiling point than things
that are liquid or solid at the same temperature.
Remember: Not all substance freeze, melt or
evaporate at the same temperature.

Water will freeze at zero degrees Celsius.

However alcohol will not freeze at this
temperature.
 Temperature
• Denoted by the letter “T”.
• The temperature of a gas is generally expressed in
Fahrenheit ( F ), Centigrade or Celsius degree ( C),
And Kelvin (K)
• Always measured with a thermometer.

Always express in Kelvin

temperature.
 Temperature (cont.)

Kelvin- named after Lord Kelvin, a

Scottish physicist who identified the lowest
attainable temperature known as
“absolute zero” with a value of -273.15 C

K= C + 273.15
Boyle’s Law
 This law is named for Charles Boyle, who
studied the relationship between pressure,
p, and volume, V, in the mid-1600s.
 Boyle determined that for the same amount
of a gas at constant temperature, results in
an inverse relationship:
when one goes up, the other

volume
pressure
comes down.
Boyle’s Law
This lesson introduces Boyle’s Law, which
describes the relationship between pressure and
volume of gases.

P P1V1 = P2V2
V
volume
pressure
 Charles’ Law
This lesson introduces Charles’ Law, which
describes the relationship between volume
and temperature of gases.

V1 V2
V
=
T
T1 T2
 Charles’ Law
 This law is named for Jacques Charles, who
studied the relationship volume, V, and
temperature, T, around the turn of the 19th
century.
 This defines a direct relationship:
With the same amount of gas he found that
as the volume increases the temperature
also increases. If the temperature
decreases than the volume also

temperature
decreases.

volume
Application:
 Why do balloons pop in hot weather?