IDEAL GASES

SYSTEM AND STATE VARIABLES

SYSTEM: Part of the universe we want to study

SURROUNDING: Interacts with the system

EQUATION OF THE STATE: the mathematical relation bet the variables that characterize a
system
STATE VARIABLES: a state of a system can be described by its state variables or parameters

PRESSURE (P)
𝐹
-force exerted per area 𝑃 = Where P= Pressure, F= Force and A=Area
𝐴

For Gases, it is the force by the impacts of a gas’s molecules per unit area
UNITS
The old air pump in the gasoline stations used the unit pounds per square inch (psi), which is
widely used especially in the United States, but usage of which is supposedly discouraged.

Later on, the new air pumps used kilopascal (KPa) (or newton per square meter, N/m2), which
is the SI unit for pressure.

In chemistry, a widely used unit for pressure is the atmosphere (atm), but the International
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry discourages its usage. However, it takes some time for
usage of this unit to be discontinued.

Another old and popular unit for pressure is the Torr (or mmHg), yet the International Union of
Pure and Applied Chemistry is also discouraging the usage of this unit.

Relationship between the different units:

1 atm = 760 Torr =760 mm Hg=101 325 Pa= 101.325 kPa
New Standard Unit: 1 bar=𝟏𝟎𝟓 Pa
1 atm = 1.10325 bar
Gas Pressures can be measured using a manometer (gas samples) and a barometer for
atmospheric pressure.

Basis of manometer/barometer: pressure of gas/atmosphere is balanced by the pressure exerted

by a column a fluid of height (h) and density (p) and g is the gravitational acceleration constant
(9.8 m/s )
𝑷𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 = 𝝆𝒈𝒉

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VOLUME (V): Space occupied by a system

The common unit for volume is the liter (L), but the SI unit for volume is m3. The equivalence of
the liter in SI units is simple:
1m3= 1000 dm3 = 106 cm3 = 1000 L
1 L = 1 dm3 1000 dm3
1 mL = 1 cm3
TEMPERATURE (T): property that describes flow of energy when 2 onjects are in contact or
between a thermally conducting rigid wall

The common unit for temperature is degree Celsius (oC), but the SI unit is Kelvin (K). The
relationship between the units is
K = oC + 273

Number of moles (n): amount of matter

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑚)
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 (𝑛) =
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 (𝜇)

The relationship between these three parameters is expressed by the Gas Laws:
1. Boyle’s Law
2. Charles’s Law
3. Avogadro’s Law
4. Amonton’s law or Gay Lussac’s Law

GAS LAWS
Boyle’s Law: ‘The volume of a given amount of gas is inversely proportional to its pressure at
constant temperature.’
• Boyle’s Law is valid only if the amount of the gas and the temperature is constant.
• The mathematical expression for Boyle’s Law:
In terms of a proportion: V α 1/ P (at constant amount and temperature)
In terms of an equation: V = k / P (at constant amount and temperature)
P V = k or
P1 V1 = P2 V2

PRACTICE: Solve the following problems:

1. A gas sample occupies a volume of 2.5 L at a pressure of 1.5 atm. What would be the
volume
of the gas if its pressure is reduced to 1 atm at the same temperature?

2. The gas inside a balloon has a volume of 15.0 L at a pressure of 2.0 atm. Calculate the
pressure of the gas if its volume is compressed to 10.0 L at the same temperature.

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Graph relating pressure and volume

The plot is called an isotherm, since the

relationship is exhibited only at constant
temperature

Charles’s Law : ‘The volume of a given amount of gas is directly proportional to its absolute
temperature at constant pressure. Charles’s Law is valid only if the amount of the gas and the
pressure is constant. Temperature should be expressed in the unit Kelvin (K).

Mathematical expression for Charles’s Law:

In terms of a proportion: V α T (at constant amount and pressure)
In terms of an equation: V = k T (at constant amount and pressure)
V / T = k or
V1 / T1 = V2 / T2

Graph relating volume and temperature

The plot is called an isobar since the

relationship is exhibited only at
constant pressure.

PRACTICE: Solve the following problems:

1. At 30oC, the volume of a sample of air was 5.8 L. What would be the volume of the air sample
if it is heated to 60oC at the same pressure?
2. A given amount of oxygen gas has a volume of 25.0 L at a temperature of 37oC and a pressure
of 1.0 atm. At what temperature would this gas occupy a volume of 22.0 L at a pressure of 1.0
atm?

Avogadro’s Law: ‘The volume of a gas at a given temperature pressure is directly proportional to
the number of moles contained in the volume.
• This law is based on Avogadro’s hypothesis that ‘the same volume of two gases at the same
temperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules’.
• The SI unit mole is related to the number of molecules in a substance.
• Experiments have shown that the volume of 1.0 mole of a gas at 0oC and 1 atm is 22.4 L.
• The mathematical expression for Avogadro’s Law:
In terms of a proportion: V α n (at constant temperature and pressure)
In terms of an equation: V = k n (at constant temperature and pressure)
V / n = k or
V1 / n1 = V2 / n2

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Solve the following problems:

1. 1.0 mole of a gas occupies a volume of 22.4 L gas at 0oC and 1 atm. What would be the
volume of 7.5 mol of the gas at the same temperature and pressure?
2. The volume of a gas sample at 0oC and 1.0 atm is 10.0 L. How many moles of gas are
contained in the sample?

The three gas laws can be combined into a single equation known as the Ideal Gas
Equation: P V = n R T

R, which is known as the gas constant, and that it is one of the few universal constants, i.e. its
value is the same anywhere and anytime.
PRACTICE: Solve the following problems:
1. A gas sample occupies a volume of 12.0 L at 50oC and 700 Torr. How many moles of gas are
contained in the sample?
2. Calculate the volume that will be occupied by 20.0 g carbon dioxide at 25oC and 1.25 atm.
3. What would be the pressure of 6.40 g oxygen gas in a vessel with a volume of 4.5 L at 20 oC?

The ideal gas equation can be transformed into an expression involving density. The number of
moles n can be expressed in terms of mass and molar mass (or weight and molecular weight,
respectively):
n=w/M

Introducing this into the ideal gas equation gives:

P V = (w / M) R T
which can be rearranged into
P M = (w / V) R T
The term w / V is recognized as equal to density, d, so that the equation becomes:
PM=dRT

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Note that if the value of R as 0.0821 (atm L) / (mol K) is used, the unit for density in the
equation should be g/L.

For a given gas (i.e. M = constant ) at a given pressure, the equation can be reduced into
d T = K or
d1 T1 = d2 T2
This equation shows that the density of a gas is inversely proportional to its temperature. This
means that hot air has a lower density than cold air. The relationship between density and
temperature can explain:
a. The principle of the hot air balloon
b. The principle behind passive cooling in building design

IDEAL GAS: also known as “perfect” gas. A model gas system that approximates gas behavior at
low pressures and high temperatures

Complete the Table of the empirical gas laws that described the behavior of ideal gas

IDEAL GAS VARIABLES FORMULA RELATIONSHIP PLOT/GRAPH

LAW
P V T n
Boyle’s Law
Charles’ Law
Avogadro’s Law
Amonton’s Law

Ideal Gas Equations: combination of empirical gas Laws

GAS MIXTURES
The Ideal Gas Equation can also be applied to not only to pure gases, but also to mixtures of
gases.
Suppose we have a system composed of three gases contained in a vessel of volume V and kept
at a
temperature T. The number of moles of each gas is n1, n2 and n3, for gases 1, 2 and 3,
respectively, so that the total number of moles of gases is
n total = n1 + n2 + n3
The pressure of the mixture is given by the Ideal Gas Equation:
P mixture V = n total R T

Realize that the term ni R T / V is equal to P and see that the previous equation can be written
as

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Solve the following problems:

1. In a gas mixture composed of N2, Ne, and He, the partial pressure of N2 is 0.50 atm, that of
Ne is 1.1 atm, and that of He is 0.80 atm. Calculate the mole fraction of each gas.
2. A gas mixture contains 2.5 mol N2 and 9.7 mol CO2, and has a pressure of 2.3 atm. What is
the partial pressure of each gas?