Question

The volume of a gas is reduced from 4 l to 0.5 l while the temperature is held constant. How does the gas pressure change?

Answer 1

Answer:

The pressure increases by a factor 8

Explanation:

For a gas held at constant temperature, Boyle's law can be applied. It states that the product of the gas pressure and the gas volume is constant, so we can write:

$p_1 V_1 = p_2 V_2$

where

$p_1$ is the initial pressure

$p_2$ is the final pressure

$V_1$ is the initial volume

$V_2$ is the final volume

For the gas in this problem, the volume is reduced from

$V_1 = 4 L$

to

$V_2 = 0.5 L$

so we can rewrite the equation as

$\frac{p_2}{p_1}=\frac{V_1}{V_2}=\frac{4 L}{0.5 L}=8$

this means that the pressure of the gas will increase by a factor 8.