If 16 L16L of a gas at room temperature exerts a pressure of 5 kPa5kPa on its container, what pressure will the gas exert if the container's volume changes to 2 L2L?

1 Answer
Jun 6, 2017

4040 "kPa"kPa

Explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use the pressure-volume relationship of gases, illustrated by Boyle's law:

P_1V_1 = P_2V_2P1V1=P2V2

We're asked to find the final pressure, P_2P2. Let's plug in the known variables, and rearrange the equation to solve for P_2P2:

P_2 = (P_1V_1)/(V_2) = ((5"kPa")(16cancel("L")))/((2cancel("L"))) = color(red)(40 color(red)("kPa"

We know that from Boyle's law that a gas's pressure and volume it occupies are inversely proportional. Our result makes intuitive sense, because since the volume decreased (by a factor of 8), our pressure must have increased (by a factor of 8).