GAS BEHAVIOR

Measuring Gases
Volume is the amount of space matter fills. It can be measured in cm, mL and L. Temperature is the measure of average energy of random motion of the particles of a substance. The faster the gas particles are moving, the higher the temperature and energy. Pressure is the force of outward push divided by the area of the walls of a container. The formula for pressure is force/area, and pressure is measured in pascals or kilo pascals.

Pressure and Volume
In the 1600s Robert Boyle discovered that when pressure of a gas at a constant temperature increased, the volume of a gas decreases and vice versa. For example, if someone filled a balloon completely with helium and raised it into the air, it would burst. This relationship between pressure and volume is called Boyle's Law.

Pressure and Volume's Interactions with Temperature
In the late 1700s Jacques Charles measured volume of gases at various temperatures. He found that when temperature of a gas is increased at a constant pressure, its volume increases. This is called Charles's law. An example of Charles's law would be a balloon being lowered into liquid nitrogen. When it is lowered into the freezing nitrogen, the balloon shrinks as the volume decreases. When removed, the gas warms and and the balloon expands again.

RESOURCES

• www.emaze.com
• Haiku Deck Images
• Prentice Hall Physical Science Explorer