Question

An unfortunate squirrel is hit by a car. A small bit of gas originally 0.005 L in volume is trapped in the squirrel's body at a temperature of 308 K. During the day, the Sun heats the squirrel to a temperature of 328 K. What is the volume of the gas in the squirrel now (keep 4 decimals in your answer)?

Answer 1

Answer: The volume of the gas in the squirrel now is 0.00532 L

Explanation:

To calculate the final volume of the system, we use the equation given by Charles' Law. This law states that volume of the gas is directly proportional to the temperature of the gas at constant pressure.

Mathematically,

$\frac{V_1}{T_1}=\frac{V_2}{T_2}$

where,

$V_1\text{ and }T_1$ are the initial volume and temperature of the gas.

$V_2\text{ and }T_2$ are the final volume and temperature of the gas.

We are given:

$V_1=0.005L\\T_1=308K\\V_2=?\\T_2=328K$

Putting values in above equation, we get:

$\frac{0.005}{308}=\frac{V_2}{328}\\\\V_2=0.0053L$

Thus  the volume of the gas in the squirrel now is 0.00532 L