What happens to the volume of a gas inside a piston if the termperatue does not change but the pressure is reduced?
When the pressure of a gas inside a piston is reduced while keeping the temperature constant, a principle known as Boyle's Law comes into play. Boyle's Law states that the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its pressure, as long as the temperature remains constant.
To understand what happens to the volume of the gas when the pressure is reduced, you can use the equation derived from Boyle's Law:
P1 * V1 = P2 * V2
where P1 is the initial pressure, V1 is the initial volume, P2 is the final pressure, and V2 is the final volume.
In this case, the temperature is constant, so we can set it aside and focus on the effect of pressure on volume. If the pressure (P2) is reduced while all other variables remain the same, the equation above simplifies to:
P1 * V1 = P2 * V2
Since P2 is lower than P1, the resulting equation can be rewritten as:
V2 = (P1 * V1) / P2
This equation demonstrates that as the pressure decreases (P2), the volume (V2) will increase. Therefore, the volume of the gas inside the piston will increase when the pressure is reduced, provided that the temperature remains constant.