Boyle's Law | Department of Chemistry (2024)

Summary

A bag of marshmallows is used to demonstrate Boyle's Law, the relationship between pressure and volume.

Hazards

Please don't eat the marshmallows, desiccators have chemical residues.

Materials

  • Jet-puffed marshmallows (extra large)
  • Vacuum pump
  • Vacuum desiccator
  • Hosing to connect vacuum to desiccator

Procedure

  1. Place the entire bag of marshmallows in the desiccator.
  2. Attach the vacuum hose to the desiccator and engage the pump.
  3. At first the marshmallows inflate, as air trapped inside the marshmallows expands, demonstrating Boyle’s law that volume increases as pressure decreases.
  4. Whole bag can be “inflated” to fill entire vacuum chamber.
  5. When the vacuum is first applied, the marshmallows inflate, At a certain point gasses will escape the marshmallows and they will deflate.
  6. Pull the hose off the desiccator and the marshmallow will collapse to half their original size

Discussion

PV = nRT

As Pressure (P) decreases, Volume must increase for nRT to remain constant.

See Also
Marshmallow
Boyle's Law | Department of Chemistry (2024)

FAQs

What is the answer to the Boyle's law? ›

What is Boyle's law? Answer: Boyle's law depicts the relationship between the pressure, volume, and temperature of a gas. It states that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume at a constant temperature.

What is Boyle's law according to chemistry? ›

Boyle's law is a gas law that states that a gas's pressure and volume are inversely proportional. When the temperature is kept constant, as volume increases, pressure falls and vice versa.

What is the Boyle's law quizlet? ›

what does it mean? Boyle's law means that if we are assuming that temperature would remain constant the volume and the pressure of a certain quantity of a gas are inversely proportional. Basically stating that if the gas doubles, then its volume will be reduced by half.

What is the Boyle's law simplified? ›

Boyle's Law is a basic law in chemistry describing the behavior of a gas held at a constant temperature. The law, discovered by Robert A. Boyle in 1662, states that at a fixed temperature, the volume of gas is inversely proportional to the pressure exerted by the gas.

What is a good example of Boyle's law? ›

Examples of Boyle's Law

A balloon serves as an illustration of Boyle's rule in action. The balloon is inflated with air, and as the air pressure presses on the rubber, the balloon expands. The balloon's unsqueezed portion will expand outward if one end is squeezed, reducing the volume and increasing pressure inside.

What is the simple experiment for Boyle's law? ›

When a marshmallow is placed in a large capped syringe and the plunger is pushed in, the air in the marshmallow contracts from the pressure. Conversely, if the plunger is pulled back, the pressure decreases causing the air in the marshmallow to expand.

How to graph Boyle's law? ›

Graphical Method for Verification of Boyle's Law

A curve is generated by drawing a graph with pressure on the x-axis (abscissa) and volume on the y-axis (ordinate). This curve is known as an isotherm since “iso” means “the same” and “therm” means “heat.” Raise the pressure of the gas to 25 degrees Celsius.

What does Boyle's law tells? ›

Boyle's law states that the volume of a given mass of gas varies inversely with the pressure when the temperature is kept constant. An inverse relationship is described in this way. As one variable increases in value, the other variable decreases.

What correctly defines Boyle's Law? ›

Boyle's law states that for ideal gas pressure is inversely proportional to the volume at constant temperature. The law itself can be stated as follows: For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional.

Which equation describes Boyle's Law? ›

This empirical relation, formulated by the physicist Robert Boyle in 1662, states that the pressure (p) of a given quantity of gas varies inversely with its volume (v) at constant temperature; i.e., in equation form, pv = k, a constant.

What is correct Boyle's law? ›

This empirical relation, formulated by the physicist Robert Boyle in 1662, states that the pressure (p) of a given quantity of gas varies inversely with its volume (v) at constant temperature; i.e., in equation form, pv = k, a constant.

What is the formula for Boyle's law and Charles Law? ›

The combined gas law is an amalgamation of the three previously known laws which are- Boyle's law PV = K, Charles law V/T = K, and Gay-Lussac's law P/T = K. Therefore, the formula of combined gas law is PV/T = K, Where P = pressure, T = temperature, V = volume, K is constant.

How to solve for Charles Law? ›

The formula for Charles' Law is V1/T1 = V2/T2. To solve for T1, you can rearrange the formula as follows: T1 = V1 x T2 / V2 This formula allows you to calculate the initial temperature (T1) if you know the initial volume (V1), the final temperature (T2), and the final volume (V2).

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