Boyle's Law
Experiment 9
Boyle's Law
Objective
To study the variation in volume with pressure for a
sample of air at constant temperature by plotting graphs
between P and V, and between P and 1/V.
h
T eery
Properties of gases and Gas laws
Gaseous state is a state of matter in which the substance does not have any
specific shape or volume. It adopts the form and size of its container. The
fundamental macroscopic properties of gases are pressure, volume,
temperature and mass of the gas. These can be explained by kinetic theory
by considering their molecular composition and motion. Careful, scientific
observation has determined that these variables are related to one another,
and the values of these properties determine the state of the gas.
These relationships among pressure, temperature and volume of a gas lead
to Gas laws. Boyle's Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as the
pressure decreases. Charles' Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as
the temperature increases and Avogadro's Law tells us that the volume of
gas increases as the amount of gas increases. The ideal gas law is the
combination of the three simple gas laws.
Br le’sTLaw
AccordingTtrTBr le’sTLaw,TteeTpyessuyeT(P)TrfTaTgivenTmassTrfTgasTisTinveysel T
proportional to its volume (V), provided that the temperature of the gas
remains constant.
For an enclosed gas, at constant temperature (T);
or,
ie;
heeTquillTtubeTisTeelpfulTinTveyif ingTBr le’sTlaw.
Since the volume of gas inside the tube(V) = cross sectional area of the
tube(a) × length of air column(l),
So,
LeayningTrutcrmes
• Students learn about the properties of gases and their relationships.
• Students understand Boyles law and its applications.
• Students understand the relation between pressure and volume of a given
mass of the gas.
MateyialsTRequiyed
• Quill tube
• Stand
• Metre scale
Pyrceduye
• Arrange the quill tube horizontally on a stand.
• The length of the air column is measured using a metre scale.
• Vertical heights at the two ends of mercury thread from the table are also measured
using a metre scale.
• The difference between them gives the verticalTeeigetT‘e’TrfTteeTmeycuy Tteyead.T
Here h=0. So pressure inside the tube is also H, which is the atmospheric [Link];
76 cm of Hg
• The quill tube is then placed in a slanting position with the open end upwards.
• The length of the air column is measured and the vertical height, h of Mercury is
noted. Now the pressure inside the tube, P=H + h.
• Quill tube is then placed in different positions, such as: vertical position with open
end upwards and with open end downwards, slanting position with open end
downwards and measure its corresponding length of the air column l and vertical
height h.
• Now P×l is calculated in each case.
Obseyvatirns
Height of Hg thread from table to
Vertical height, h Pressure, P = H Length of air P×l
Sl No. Position of the tube
= h2 -h1 (cm) h (cm) column, l (cm) (cm2)
Lower end, Upper end,
h1 (cm) h2 (cm)
Vertical (open
1
end up)
Slanting (open
2
end up)
3 Horizontal
Slanting (open
4
end down)
Vertical (open
5
end down)
Calculatirns
• Calculate P × l in each case.
• Plot a graph between Pressure and reciprocal of length, taking pressure (P) along X
axis and reciprocal length (1/l) along Y axis.
R
T esult
From the tabular column, it is found that; P × l is a constant.
The graph between reciprocal of length and pressure is a straight line, which shows that
pressure of the given mass of gas is inversely proportional to length of air column.
It indicates the inverse proportionality of pressure and volume of a given mass of gas, hence
verifies Boyle’s law.
Precautions :
1. Air in tube A must be pure and dry.
2. The wooden board must be set vertical
3. Position of mercury levels must be noted using set squares
4. Atmospheric pressure must be taken in the beginning and at the end of the Its mean must be
used in calculation.
5. Graph must be plotted carefully.
Sources of error :
1. The air in tube A may not be pure and dry.
2. Base may not be broad and heavy to keep the, apparatus
Viva-Voce [Boyle's Law]
Question. 1. State Boyle’s Law ?
Answer. Read theory of Experiment 9.
Question. 2. Why do we use the mercury in Boyle’s law apparatus ?
Answer. Pressure difference (P) is in terms of difference of mercury levels in tube A and B. This
difference added algebraically to atmospheric pressure gives the pressure of air in tube A in cm
of Hg.
Question. 3. Does Boyle’s law hold good under all conditions ?
Answer. No. Boyle’s law is only hold good when temperature is high and pressure is low.
Question. 4. Why is it necessary to make the Boyle’s law apparatus vertical ?
Answer. If it is not vertical, the reading of mercury column will not be accurate.
Question. 5. For which gas have you verified Boyle’s law ?
Answer. For air.
Question. 6. What is atmospheric pressure ?
Answer. It is the pressure on earth surface due to air column Pa = 1.013 x 10-5 Nm-2.
Question. 7. What is nature of graph between pressure and volume for a gas at constant
temperature ?
Answer. Hyperbola.
Question. 8. What is nature of graph for P vs. 1/V for a gas at constant temperature ?
Answer. Straight line.
Question. 9. How the pressure depend upon radius of tube A and B?
Answer. Pressure does not depend upon the radius (Area) of tube.
Question. 10. What is ideal gas equation ?
Answer. PV = nRT
