Gas Laws and Temperature Changes
How do changes in temperature affect the volume of a gas?
Given a sample of helium gas expanding from 2.00 L to 3.50 L, what was the temperature change?
Answer:
The temperature of the helium gas was heated to approximately 527.76 K.
When dealing with changes in temperature and volume of a gas, we turn to Charles's Law. This law explains the relationship between temperature and volume of a gas at constant pressure. The formula for Charles's Law is V₁/T₁ = V₂/T₂, where V represents volume, T represents temperature in Kelvin, and the subscripts indicate the initial (1) and final (2) states.
In the case of the helium gas expanding from 2.00 L to 3.50 L, the initial temperature was 30.0 ℃, equivalent to 303.15 K in Kelvin. Using the formula and substituting the values, we find that the final temperature, T₂, was approximately 527.76 K. This calculation helps us understand how changes in temperature can directly impact the volume of a gas.