How Does Boyle's Law Explain the Pressure-Volume Relationship of CO2?

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

This discussion centers on Boyle's Law, which states that at constant temperature, the pressure of a fixed amount of gas varies inversely with its volume. The mathematical representation is given by the equation $p \times V = k_1$, where $k_1$ is a constant dependent on the gas amount and temperature. The participants analyze the volume of 0.09 moles of CO₂ at 300 K, using the ideal gas law $V = \frac{nRT}{p}$, and clarify discrepancies in calculated values from a table, suggesting that the pressure unit should be $10^3\,Pa$. They confirm that using standard temperature and pressure (STP) yields consistent results with the ideal gas law.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Boyle's Law and its mathematical formulation.
  • Familiarity with the ideal gas law: $PV = nRT$.
  • Knowledge of standard temperature and pressure (STP) conditions.
  • Basic skills in unit conversion and scientific notation.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the implications of Boyle's Law in real gas behavior versus ideal gas behavior.
  • Learn about the derivation and applications of the ideal gas law.
  • Explore the concept of molar volume at STP and its significance in gas calculations.
  • Investigate online calculators or tools for gas law computations.
USEFUL FOR

Students of chemistry, physics enthusiasts, and professionals in scientific fields who require a solid understanding of gas laws and their applications in real-world scenarios.

WMDhamnekar
MHB
Messages
378
Reaction score
30
Robert Boyle's law states that at constant temperature, the pressure of fixed amount ( i-e number of moles n) of gas varies inversely with its volume. Mathematically, it can be written as $p ∝ \frac1V $(at constant T and n) $\Rightarrow p = k_1 \times \frac1V $ where $k_1$is a proportionality constant.

The value of constant $k_1$ depends upon the amount of the gas, temperature of the gas and the units in which p and V are expressed. $p \times V= k_1$

If a fixed amount of gas at constant temperature T occupying volume $V_1$ at pressure $p_1$ undergoes expansion, so that volume becomes $V_2$ and pressure becomes $p_2,$ then according to Boyle’s law : $p_1 \times V_1 = p_2 \times V_2=$ constant $\Rightarrow \frac{p_1}{p_2} = \frac{V_2}{V_1}.$

It should be noted that volume V of the gas doubles, if pressure is halved.

The following table 5.1 gives effect of pressure on volume of 0.09 mol of CO₂ at 300 K. but i didn't understand these calculated values given in the second column. I also didn't understand the meanings of headings given to each column. If any member can explain me how the values in the second column is computed, may answer to this question.

Effect of pressure on CO2.png
My understanding:

$V= \frac{nRT}{p}\tag {1}$ where n, R, T, p are constants. n stands for number of moles, R is gas constant, T is temperature and p is pressure.

Putting the given values in this equation (1),we get 11.2 liters =$\frac {0.09 mol \times 8,314 J k^{-1} mol^{-1}\times 300 K }{20000 Pa}$

But in the second column, it is $112 \times 10^{-3} m^3= 112 $ liters . How is that? Where i am wrong?Can we compute the volume of $CO_2$ in another way? For example, by using this known information that one mole of $CO_2$ molecules features a volume of 22.414 liters at standard T and p. So, 0.09 mol of $CO_2$ features a volume of $0.09 \times 22.414= 2.01726 $ liters at STP.
 
Last edited:
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Which table are we talking about?
Otherwise I can only guess why it would show $112\times 10^{-3}\,m^3$.

Either way, your substitution in the ideal gas law (equation 1) has $p=20\,000\,Pa$, which is not standard pressure.
If instead we substitute the STP values $p_0=100\,000\,Pa$ and $T_0=273.15\,K$, we find:
$$\frac {0.09\, mol \times 8.314\, J K^{-1} mol^{-1}\times 273.15\, K }{100\,000\, Pa} = 2.04\, L$$
which agrees with what you found using the molar volume at STP.
Note that the ideal gas law predicts a slightly higher value (1%), which is because a real gas is slightly more cohesive than an ideal gas.
 
Last edited:
Klaas van Aarsen said:
Which table are we talking about?
Otherwise I can only guess why it would show $112\times 10^{-3}\,m^3$.

Either way, your substitution in the ideal gas law (equation 1) has $p=20\,000\,Pa$, which is not standard pressure.
If instead we substitute the STP values $p_0=100\,000\,Pa$ and $T_0=273.15\,K$, we find:
$$\frac {0.09\, mol \times 8.314\, J K^{-1} mol^{-1}\times 273.15\, K }{100\,000\, Pa} = 2.04\, L$$
which agrees with what you found using the molar volume at STP.
Note that the ideal gas law predicts a slightly higher value (1%), which is because a real gas is slightly more cohesive than an ideal gas.

Hello,

Sorry. I forgot to add the table. Now, i have added it to my question.
 
It looks as a mistake in the table. I believe the unit in the pressure column should be $10^3\,Pa$. Then the other 3 columns have the correct values.
We can verify with either molar volume or ideal gas law at $T=300\,K$, or we can look it up with an online calculator or table.
 

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
6K
Replies
16
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K