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EP103 FOUNDATION IN CHEMISTRY II

LABORATORY REPORT


EXPERIMENT 1
BOYLES LAW


ANDREW ARVIND A/L SIMON (GROUP NO. 6)
1001231972


SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND
BUILT ENVIRONMENT


SEPTEMBER 12, 2013


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TABLE OF CONTENT

Content Page No
Objectives 3
Introduction 3 - 4
Materials / Apparatus 4
Results and Discussion 4 - 6
Conclusion 6
Limitation of experiment / Safety precautions 6
References 6 - 7
Appendix Authenticated results 8




















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Experiment 1 : Boyles Law

Objective

To determine the relationship between pressure and volume of an ideal gas.
To compare the experimental results with theoretical results.

Introduction

Boyles Law is an example of a limiting law, a law that is strictly true to a certain limit.
Boyle's Law is a principle that describes the relationship between the pressure and volume of
a gas. According to this law, the pressure exerted by a gas held at a constant temperature
varies inversely with the volume of the gas. For example, if the volume is halved, the
pressure is doubled, and if the volume is doubled, the pressure is halved. The reason for this
effect is that a gas is made up of loosely spaced molecules moving at random. If a gas is
compressed in a container, these molecules are pushed together thus, the gas occupies less
volume. The molecules, having less space in which to move, hit the walls of the container
more frequently and thus exert an increased pressure.

Boyles law states that at constant temperature for a fixed mass, the absolute pressure and the
volume of a gas are inversely proportional. Forcing the volume V of the fixed quantity of gas
to increase, keeping the gas at the initially measured temperature, the pressure P must
decrease proportionally. Conversely, reducing the volume of the gas increases the pressure.
The law can also be stated in a slightly different manner, that the product of absolute pressure
and volume is always constant. The law is used to predict the result of introducing a change,
in volume and pressure only, to the initial state of a fixed quantity of gas. The before and
after volumes and pressures of the fixed amount of gas, where the before and after
temperatures are the same (heating or cooling will be required to meet this condition), are
related by the equation:

P
1
V
1
= P
2
V
2
(P = Pressure, V = Volume)

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In this experiment, Boyles Law is investigated and proven as well. A compressive pressure
chamber will be used to compress and release the pressure as well. The pressures will be
noted until they stabilize. The pressure will be recorded when the chamber is pressurized as
well as when the pressure is released to vacuum at 1 bar as well as 2 bar pressure level.

Materials / Apparatus

Vacuum chamber
Pressure chamber
Air compressor

Methodology

1. The general start up procedures were performed as stated in appendix A. All the
valves were made sure to be closed.
2. The compressive pump was switched on and the pressure inside the chamber was
allowed to increase up to about 150kPa. Then, the pump was switched off and the
hose was removed from the chamber.
3. The pressure reading inside the chamber was monitored until it stabilized.
4. The pressure reading for both chambers before expansion was recorded.
5. V 02 was fully opened and the pressurized air was allowed to flow into the
atmospheric chamber.
6. The pressure reading for both chambers were recorded after expansion.
7. The PV was calculated and Boyles Law was proven.

Results and Discussion

Pressure , kPa Temperature,
o
C
No Chamber P
1
P
2
T
1
T
2

1 Pressure 149.1 132.3 24.2 22.5
2 Vacuum 101.2 134.5 20.9 21.6


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According to Boyles Law,
P
1
V
1
= P
2
V
2

Pressure Chamber = 25 L
Vacuum Chamber = 12.2 L

(P
1
V
1
+ P
2
V
2
) before expansion = (P
1
V
1
+ P
2
V
2
) after expansion
(149.1)(25) + (101.2)(12.2) = (132.3)(25) + (134.5)(12.2)
3727.5 + 1234.64 = 3307.5 + 1640.9
4962.14 = 4984.4

Percentage error :






=

x 100%

= 0.276 %


Boyles Law states that for a fixed mass of gas at constant temperature, the volume is
inversely proportional to the pressure. Pressure is caused by gas molecules hitting the walls
of the container. With a smaller volume, the gas molecules will hit the walls more frequently,
and so the pressure increases. If the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is increased without
changing the temperature, the only way you can do it is to squeeze it into a smaller volume.
That causes the molecules to hit the walls more often, and so the pressure increases. If the
volume of the container is reduced, the gas molecules have a shorter distance to travel before
they collide with the walls of the container. This means that they collide with the walls more
frequently. The change of momentum that takes place at the surface of the walls occurs in a
shorter time, resulting in a greater force exerted by the molecules on the walls, and hence a
greater pressure.

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Boyles Law applies to all gases regardless of its chemical identity (provided that the pressure
is low) because at low pressures, the average separation of molecules is so great that they
exert no influence on one another and hence travel independently. The kinetic energy of the
particles is proportional to the temperature. The compression will be isothermic in nature. All
the external energy is transferred indirectly to the environment since the gas remains at its
temperature when the compression is extremely slow. At constant temperature if volume of a
gas is reduced, gas molecules will come close to each other but there is no change in the
velocity of gas molecules.

The pressure does not equal theoretically. The difference in pressure may have been due the
pressure that escaped during the expansion. This causes an inaccurate result and a slight
percentage error of 0.276%.

Conclusion

The pressure increases when the volume decreases in both the chambers which undergoes
expansion and hence Boyles Law is proven.

Limitation of Experiment

The pump pressure is set the maximum to level 2 as excess pressure may result in the
breaking of the glass.
The valves were closed tightly each time to avoid movable pressure from each
chamber into one another.
The volume may not always be constant as it may vary.

References

Website
David N.Blauch (2009, June). Gas Laws : Boyles Law. Retrieved on September 14,
2013, from http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/gaslaws/boyleslaw.html.
Kent Krinnasch (2007, May). Boyles Law. Retrieved on September 14, 2013, from
http://www.kentchemistry.com/links/GasLaws/Boyles.htm.
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Cliff Notes (2007). Boyles Law. Retrieved on September 15, 2013, from
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/chemistry/chemistry/gases/boyles-law.

Reference Book
Peter Atkins and Julio De Paulo (2010). Physical Chemistry. (9
th
edition). W.H.
Freeman and Company.