Boyle's Law

PV=C

Boyle's Law states that when the temperature and the number of moles of a sample of gas are held constant, its volume is inversely proportional to the pressure applied.

We will delineate this law to you by telling you about an experiment done by a British scientist named Robert Boyle in 1660.

A calibrated syringe is filled with air, and the volume is read. A weight placed on top of the plunger increases the pressure on the air in the syringe and while the temperature was held constant, even more weight is added to the plunger. The volume is measured for several different pressure. The Table below shows the result from such an experiment.

As you can see from the above results, P x V continues to be held close to constant. Thus, it is deduced that PV=C. When solving problems involving the relationship PV=C, a proportion similar to X₁Y₁=X₂Y₂ should be set up. If three of the four terms are known, the fourth can be found by division.

Sample Questions:

1. A gas occupies a volume of 200ml at 760 torr. What volume will it occupy at and 850 torr assuming all else are held constant..

2. A gas has a volume of 500mL at a pressure of 700 torr. What volume will it occupy if the pressure is increased to 1.35 atm. Assume that the temperature and number of moles of a gas remain constant.

Return Home Conversion Table Abbreviations

Basic concepts A Sample Test The Glossary

PV = C V/n = C P/n = C V/T = C

P/T = C Tn = C

PV=nRT

Answers to Sample Problems

Answers to Sample Test