Question

If `12 L` of a gas at room temperature exerts a pressure of `8 kPa` on its container, what pressure will the gas exert if the container's volume changes to `3 L`?

Answer 1

The gas will exert a pressure of `color(blue)("32kPa").`

Explanation:

Let's identify our knowns and unknowns:

The first volume we have is `12` L, the first pressure is `8kPa`, and the second volume is `3L`. Our only unknown is the second pressure.

We can ascertain the answer using Boyle's Law:

All we have to do is rearrange the equation to solve for `P_2`

We do this by dividing both sides by `V_2` in order to get `P_2` by itself:
`P_2=(P_1xxV_1)/V_2`

Now all we have to do is plug in the given values:
`P_2=(8\kPa xx 12\ cancel"L")/(3\cancel"L")` = `32 kPa`