A question of the Intercompatibility of the Gas Laws.

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter modulus
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Gas Gas laws Laws
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the intercompatibility of Boyle's Law, Charles's Law, and Amonton's Law within the context of the ideal gas law, PV=nRT. Boyle's Law states that pressure is inversely proportional to volume at constant temperature, while Charles's Law asserts that volume is directly proportional to temperature at constant pressure. Amonton's Law indicates that pressure is directly proportional to temperature at constant volume. The key conclusion is that these laws can coexist when applied to the behavior of gases in various containers, as they collectively support the ideal gas law under different conditions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Boyle's Law
  • Familiarity with Charles's Law
  • Knowledge of Amonton's Law
  • Basic grasp of the ideal gas law (PV=nRT)
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation of the ideal gas law from the three gas laws
  • Explore real-world applications of the ideal gas law in various scientific fields
  • Investigate the limitations of the ideal gas law under high pressure and low temperature conditions
  • Learn about the kinetic molecular theory and its relation to gas laws
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics and chemistry, educators teaching gas laws, and professionals in scientific research who require a solid understanding of gas behavior and the ideal gas law.

modulus
Messages
127
Reaction score
3
I was recently taught about the three gas laws:

1)Boyle's Law, which stated that pressure is inversely proportional to volume and vice-versa at a constant temperature.

2)Charle's Law, which stated that volume is directly proportional to temperature at a a constant pressure

3)Amonton Law, which stated that pressure is directly proportional to temperature at a constant volume.

I have no confusion regarding the first two laws, but, I don't understand how increasing temperature would increase pressure (Amonton's Law) unless the gas is in an enclosed container (so that when it's temp. is increased, it's volume increases too, which will cause it's molecules to collide with the container more often to produce more pressure).
If we consider Amonoton's Law to be in the context of a closed container, then Boyle's Law and Charle's Law would also be in the context of a closed container (because the three laws are used together to derive the gas equation PV=nRT). But, then Boyle's Law would make no sense.
So, the three laws are not intercompatible, which means the gas equation is wrong ... but ... how??
 
Science news on Phys.org
modulus said:
I have no confusion regarding the first two laws, but, I don't understand how increasing temperature would increase pressure (Amonton's Law) unless the gas is in an enclosed container (so that when it's temp. is increased, it's volume increases too, which will cause it's molecules to collide with the container more often to produce more pressure).

Your perspective about the pressure is totally right, but you've overlooked the fact that you're studying the gas not the container that contains the gas. When you want to study the gas, you put it in different containers and in different circumstances and watch how it'll act in every environment, so you can give a general law for it everywhere in any situation.
Eventually, you can combine everything you saw in 1 law that tells you everything you want in every environment, which means that the general law (ideal gas law) should agree with the 3 partial laws you've seen in the experiment, which is the case in in the ideal gas law PV=nRT when you set any of the 3 variables to be a constant.

If this answer doesn't convince you, ask again and you're welcome :)

Good luck :)
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
6K
  • · Replies 60 ·
3
Replies
60
Views
11K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
3K
  • · Replies 109 ·
4
Replies
109
Views
9K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K