Question

the volume of a gas varies inversely as the pressure upon it. if the volume of the gas is 160 cubic centimeters at a pressure of 108 centimeters find the volume when the pressure is 87 centimeters

Answer 1

It was stated in the problem that a given volume of a is inversely proportional with the pressure of the system. It means that the as the volume increases, the pressure would decrease and as the volume decreases, the pressure would increase. We would express it as:

V α 1/P

To change it to an equality, we introduce a proportionality constant, k. We do as follows:

V = k/P

So, to determine what is asked, we need to first calculate for the value of k.

V = k/P
At V = 160 m^3 P = 108 cmHg
160 = k / (108)
k = 17280

Thus, at P = 87 cmHg 
V = 17280 / 87 
V = 198.62 m^3