Explain what will happen to the volume of a gas as the pressure on that gas is increased. Assume that the temperature and amount of gas remain constant.
Look up Boyle's Law.
When the pressure on a gas is increased, the volume of the gas will generally decrease. This relationship is known as Boyle's Law. Boyle's Law states that, at a constant temperature and mass, the pressure and volume of a gas are inversely proportional to each other.
To understand why this occurs, we can look at the behavior of gas molecules. In a gas, molecules are in constant motion, colliding with each other and the walls of their container. When the pressure on a gas is increased, it means that there are more collisions happening per unit of time on the walls of the container. As a result, the gas molecules are forced closer together and occupy a smaller volume.
A way to experimentally demonstrate Boyle's Law is by using an apparatus called a Boyle's Law apparatus or a syringe. You can take a sample of gas in a syringe with a movable piston and measure its initial volume and pressure. Then, while keeping the temperature and gas amount constant, you can apply force to the piston, thus increasing the pressure. As a result, you will observe the volume decreasing.
Mathematically, Boyle's Law can be expressed as P₁V₁ = P₂V₂, where P₁ and V₁ are the initial pressure and volume of the gas, and P₂ and V₂ are the final pressure and volume.
So, to summarize, when the pressure on a gas is increased while keeping the temperature and amount of gas constant, the volume of the gas will decrease according to Boyle's Law.