Question

A container with a volume of `"16 L"` contains a gas with a temperature of `"100 K"`. If the temperature of the gas changes to `"480 K"` without any change in pressure, what must the container's new volume be?

Answer 1

The volume after the increase in temperature will be 77 L.

Explanation:

This is an example of Charles' law which states that at constant pressure, the volume of a gas varies directly with the temperature in Kelvins. This means that when the volume increases, so does the temperature and vice versa. The equation to use is `V_1/T_1=V_2/T_2`.

`V_1="16 L"`
`T_1="100 K"`
`T_2="480 K"`
`V_2=color(red)"unknown"`

Solution
Rearrange the equation to isolate `V_2`. Substitute the given values into the equation and solve.

`V_1/T_1=V_2/T_2`

`V_2=(V_1T_2)/T_1`

`V_2=(16"L" * 480cancel"K")/(100cancel"K")="77 L"` (rounded to two significant figures)