1. Boyle’s law states that if you squeeze a fixed amount of a gas into a
smaller volume, the pressure will increase. Explain why in your
own words.
In simple terms, Boyle's law explains the relationship between the volume and pressure of a gas. It states that if you decrease the volume of a gas while keeping the temperature constant, the pressure of the gas will increase proportionally.
To understand this concept, let's consider a balloon filled with a specific amount of gas. When the balloon is large and not squeezed, the gas particles inside have more space to move around. As a result, the collisions between the gas particles and the walls of the balloon are less frequent, leading to a lower pressure.
Now, if you start squeezing the balloon, you decrease its volume. As the volume decreases, the same amount of gas particles now have less space to move within the balloon. This causes the gas particles to collide more frequently with the walls of the balloon, resulting in an increase in the force exerted per unit area. This force per unit area is known as pressure.
In summary, Boyle's law states that when you decrease the volume of a gas, the gas particles are confined to a smaller space, causing them to collide more frequently with the container walls and thereby increasing the pressure.
To mathematically express Boyle's law, you can use the formula:
P1 * V1 = P2 * V2
Where P1 and V1 represent the initial pressure and volume, and P2 and V2 represent the final pressure and volume respectively.