Experiment

6
Boyle’s Law: Pressure-Volume
Relationship in Gases
The primary objective of this experiment is to determine the relationship between the pressure
and volume of a confined gas. Remember that in a gas the particles move freely. The particles
exert a pressure against the walls of the container that confines the gas because of the kinetic
energy they possess. The ‘gas’ we use will be air (which is a mixture of gases that behave
similarly under pressure), and it will be confined in a syringe connected to a pressure sensor (see
Figure 1). When the volume of the syringe is changed by moving the piston, a change occurs in
the pressure exerted by the confined gas. This pressure change will be monitored using a
pressure sensor connected to a CBL. It is assumed that temperature will be constant throughout
the experiment. Pressure and volume data pairs will be collected during this experiment and then
analyzed. From the data and graph, you should be able to determine what kind of mathematical
relationship exists between the pressure and volume of the confined gas. Historically, this
relationship was first established by Robert Boyle in 1662 and has since been known as Boyle’s
law. Boyle was primarily interested in the effect of an external pressure on the volume of a
confined gas. We are interested in observing the effect of an external pressure on the volume of
a confined gas and the pressure the gas exerts.

Pressure Sensor

Figure 1

MATERIALS
CBL System Vernier adapter cable
TI Graphing Calculator 20-mL gas syringe
Vernier Pressure Sensor TI-Graph Link

PROCEDURE
1. Prepare the Pressure Sensor and an air sample for data collection.
• Plug the pressure sensor into the adapter cable in Channel 1 of the CBL. A 20-mL syringe
is already connected to the 3-way valve, as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 3.
• Use the link cable to connect the CBL System to the TI Graphing Calculator. Firmly press
in the cable ends.

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Experiment 6

• Open the side arm of the pressure sensor valve to allow air to enter and exit. Open its side
valve by aligning the blue handle with the arm that leads to the pressure sensor as shown in
Figure 2.
• Move the piston of the syringe until the front edge of the
inside black ring (indicated by the arrow in Figure 3 on the
next page) is positioned at the 10.0 mL mark.
• Close the side arm of the pressure sensor valve by aligning
the blue handle with the side arm (see Figure 3). Figure 2

2. Turn on the CBL unit and the calculator. Start the CHEMBIO program and proceed to the
MAIN MENU.

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 Boyle’s Law: Pressure-Volume Relationship in Gases

3. Set up the calculator and CBL for a pressure sensor and calibration (in atmospheres).
• Select SET UP PROBES from the MAIN MENU.
• Enter “1” as the number of probes.
• Select PRESSURE from the SELECT PROBE menu.
• Enter “1” as the channel number.
• Select USE STORED from the CALIBRATION menu.
• Select ATM from the PRESSURE UNITS menu.

4. Set up the calculator and CBL for data collection.

• Select COLLECT DATA from the MAIN MENU.
• Select TRIGGER/PROMPT from the DATA COLLECTION menu.

5. Collect the pressure versus volume data. It is best for one person to take care of the gas
syringe and for another to operate the calculator.
• Move the piston to position the front edge of the inside black ring (see Figure 3) at the
5.0-mL line on the syringe. Hold the piston firmly in this position until the pressure value
stabilizes.
• When the pressure reading has stabilized, press TRIGGER on the CBL. Type in the gas volume
(in mL) on the calculator. Press the ENTER key to store this pressure-volume data pair. As
well, record this volume and pressure in the chart on the next page.

Pressure Sensor

Figure 3
6. Select MORE DATA from the DATA COLLECTION menu to collect another data pair. Repeat
the Step 5 procedure for volumes of 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, and 20.0 mL.
7. Select STOP AND GRAPH from the DATA COLLECTION menu when you have finished
collecting data. As you move the cursor right or left, the volume ( X) and pressure (Y) values
of each data point are displayed below the graph. Record the pressure (round to the nearest
0.01 atm) and volume data pairs in your data table.
8. Based on the graph of pressure vs. volume, decide what kind of mathematical relationship
exists between these two variables, direct or inverse. To see if you made the right choice:
• Press ENTER , then select NO to return to the MAIN MENU.
• Select FIT CURVE from the MAIN MENU.
• Select POWER L1, L 2 (POWER c1, c 2 on the TI-92). The power-regression statistics for
these two lists are displayed for the equation in the form:
y = a*x^b
where x is volume, y is pressure, a is a proportionality constant, and b is the exponent of x
(volume) in this equation. Note: The relationship between pressure and volume can be
determined from the value and sign of the exponent, b.
• To display the power-regression curve on the graph of pressure vs. volume, press ENTER ,
then select SCALE FROM 0 from the SCALE DATA menu. If you have correctly determined

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Experiment 6

the mathematical relationship, the power regression line should very nearly fit the points on
the graph (that is, pass through or near the plotted points).

DATA AND CALCULATIONS

Enter your data from the lab in this chart.

Volume Pressure Constant, k

(mL) (atm) (P / V or P•V)

PROCESSING THE DATA

Answer the folloing questions:

1. Describe in a well-written sentences the nature of a gas at the particle level. In your
description explain why gases are compressible.
2. If the volume is doubled from 5.0 mL to 10.0 mL, what does your data show happens to the
pressure? Show the pressure values in your answer.
3. Explain why at the particle level this change in pressure occurs.
4. If the volume is halved from 20.0 mL to 10.0 mL, what does your data show happens to the
pressure? Show the pressure values in your answer.
5. Again, explain why at the particle level why this change in pressure occurs.
6. If the volume is tripled from 5.0 mL to 15.0 mL, what does your data show happened to the
pressure? Show the pressure values in your answer.
7. From your answers to the first three questions and the shape of the curve in the plot of
pressure versus volume, do you think the relationship between the pressure and volume of a
confined gas is direct or inverse? Explain your answer.
8. Based on your data, what would you expect the pressure to be if the volume of the syringe
was increased to 40.0 mL. Explain or show work to support your answer.
9. Based on your data, what would you expect the pressure to be if the volume of the syringe
was decreased to 2.5 mL.
10. What experimental factors are assumed to be constant in this experiment?

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 Boyle’s Law: Pressure-Volume Relationship in Gases

11. One way to determine if a relationship is inverse or direct is to find a proportionality

constant, k, from the data. If this relationship is direct, k = P/V. If it is inverse, k = P •V.
Based on your answer to Question 4, choose one of these formulas and calculate k for the
seven ordered pairs in your data table (divide or multiply the P and V values). Show the
answers in the third column of the Data and Calculations table.
12. How constant were the values for k you obtained in Question 8? Good data may show some
minor variation, but the values for k should be relatively constant.
13. Using P, V, and k, write an equation representing Boyle’s law. Write a verbal statement that
correctly expresses Boyle’s law.

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Experiment 6

EXTENSION
1. To confirm that an inverse relationship exists between pressure and volume, a graph of
pressure vs. reciprocal of volume (1/volume or volume-1) may also be plotted. To do this
using your calculator, it is necessary to create a new data list, reciprocal of volume, based on
your original volume data. First, press ENTER to return to the MAIN MENU and select QUIT.
Then follow this procedure for your calculator:
TI-82 or TI-83 Calculators:
To view the lists, press STAT to display the EDIT menu and then select Edit. Move the
cursor up and to the right until the L3 heading is highlighted. Create a list of 1/volume
values in L3 by pressing 2nd [L1] x –1 ENTER . L1 is volume, L 2 is pressure, and L3 is
1/volume.
TI-85 Calculators:
Press 2nd [LIST], then select <NAMES>. Create a list of 1/volume values in L 3 by
pressing <L1> 2nd [x-1] STO <L3> ENTER . The L3 values should now be displayed on
the calculator screen.
TI-86 Calculators:
To view the lists, press 2nd [STAT] and select <EDIT>. Move the cursor up and to the
right until the L3 heading is highlighted. Create a list of 1/volume values in L3 by pressing
<NAMES> <L1> 2nd [x–1] ENTER . L1 is volume, L 2 is pressure, and L3 is 1/volume. Press
2nd [QUIT] when you are finished with this step.
TI-92 Calculators:
To view the data matrix, press APPS , select Data/Matrix Editor, then Current. Move the
cursor up and to the right until the c3 heading of the data matrix is highlighted. Create a
list of 1/volume values in c3 by pressing 1 C 1 ENTER . Volume is

stored in c1, pressure in c2, and 1/volume in c3. To quit the Data/Matrix Editor, press
APPS
, then select Home.

2. Follow this procedure to calculate regression statistics and to plot a best-fit regression line on
your graph of pressure vs. 1/volume:
• Start the CHEMBIO program again and proceed to the MAIN MENU. Important: Do not
select SET UP PROBES on the MAIN MENU—doing so will clear the data lists.
• Select FIT CURVE from the MAIN MENU.
• Select LINEAR L 3, L2 (LINEAR c 3, c 2 on the TI-92). The linear-regression statistics for
these two lists are displayed for the equation in the form:
y = ax + b
where x is 1/volume, y is pressure, a is a proportionality constant, and b is the y-intercept.
• To display the linear-regression curve on the graph of pressure vs. 1/volume, press ENTER ,
then select SCALE FROM 0 from the SCALE DATA menu. If the relationship between P and
V is an inverse relationship, the plot of P versus 1/V should be direct; that is, the curve
should be linear and pass through (or near) the origin. Examine your graph to see if this is
true for your data.

3. Use the TI-Graph Link cable and program to transfer the graph of pressure vs. 1/volume with
a regression line to a Macintosh or IBM-compatible computer. Print a copy of the graph.

6-6 Chemistry with CBL