Boyle’s Law Lab – Student instructions and worksheet
Do not start writing on this form until instructed to do so.
Lab activity: The primary objective of this experiment is to determine
Name:
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Last Name
Date:
First Name
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Day number –
Description of Work:
Month (3 letters)
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Year (2 digits)
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the relationship between the pressure and volume of fixed amount of a
Teacher’s Last Name: ________________________
confined gas at constant temperature. The gas we use will be air, and it will
be confined in a syringe connected to a Gas 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
Gas Pressure Sensor. 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.
Read the LAB PREPARATION section on the back of this sheet. Then, write the PROCEDURES in your lab notebook in
pen. Then go to the lab. Wear all required safety gear.
During lab be sure to write careful and detailed observations (including measurements) in your lab notebook.
Stop here until instructed to do otherwise.
Observe: In the space below, summarize the results that you got from the lab activity. Provide enough
detail to support the explanation that you will give below.
1. When the air in your syringe was at a volume of 10.0 mL, what was your pressure? _____________________
2. When you changed the volume of the air in your syringe to5.0 mL, what did your pressure become? ________
3. Each time you decreased the volume of the air in your syringe what did the pressure do? _________________
4. Describe—in detail—the kind of patterned formed by the graph of the changes is volume and pressure?
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5. The relationship between pressure and volume of a fixed amount of gas at constant (unchanging)
temperature is called an inverse relationship. Why do you think that it is called ―inverse?‖
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Turn this sheet in to your teacher BEFORE you leave class today.
Gas pressure vs volume relationship
LAB PREPARATION
1. The Gas Pressure Sensor, Vernier LabQuest,
and Excel spreadsheet (on the computer) should
be ready for you to use when you arrive in the
lab.
2. The Excel spreadsheet will have columns ready
for you to enter your data from measurements
as your lab group produces them.
3. The spreadsheet has been set up to correct the volume readings from the syringe. Look at the syringe in the
image above; its scale reports its own internal volume. However, that volume is not the total volume of trapped
air in your system since there is a little bit of space inside the pressure sensor.
4. To account for the extra volume in the system, an extra 0.8 mL will be added to each of your syringe readings.
The Excel spreadsheet will calculate it for you automatically. This has been done for you on the spreadsheet
but you must do this for yourself in your lab notebook. For example, with a 5.0 mL syringe volume, the total
volume would be 5.8 mL. It is this total volume that you will need for the analysis.
PROCEDURES
Summarize these procedures in your lab notebook. If you are dressed properly, you may start the lab when your
procedures have been written.
Make sure that you write down everything that you do and that you observe or measure in your lab notebook.
5. You are now ready to collect pressure and volume data. It is easiest if one person takes care of the gas syringe
and another enters the data into the spreadsheet.
a. Start data collection.
b. The syringe is already set up at 10.0 mL. Record
that volume and the pressure in your lab notebook
and on your spreadsheet. Make sure that you keep
the pressure and volume measurements together.
c. Move the piston so the front edge of the inside of
the black ring (see Figure 2) is positioned at the 5.0
mL line on the syringe. Hold the piston firmly in
this position until the pressure value displayed on
the screen stabilizes.
d. Enter 5.0 in the volume column on your spreadsheet, and enter the best pressure reading from your
handheld Lab Quest unit.
e. Continue this procedure using syringe volumes of 2.5, 5.0. 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, and 20.0 mL.
f. Repeat this procedure at least 3 times or until your results appear to be consistent. The spreadsheet will
automatically average your results.
g. Write the lab results from the spreadsheet into your lab notebook (remember to write in blue or black
pen).
h. Stop data collection.
6. When data collection is complete, you should create a best fit line or curve on your computer graph of pressure
vs. volume using Excel.
a. Right click on one of the data points and choose to create an appropriate trend line or trend curve. Just
follow the directions. There are a number of choices for the kind of line or curve. You should try all of
them until you find the one that best fits your data.
7. When you are done, call your teacher. He or she will save a copy of your table and graph to compare to your
results later.
Gas
pressure vs volume
relationship
______________,
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Name:
Last Name
Post Lab Assignment
Date:
First Name
_______-__________-_________
Day number –
Month (3 letters)
–
Year (2 digits)
You will create a formal table and graph of your results from the data
Description of Work: ________________________
that you recorded in your lab notebook. The table should be created
on this side of the paper and the graph on the other side. Open,
Teacher’s Last Name: ________________________
watch, and read the tables_graphs_formal_tutorial PowerPoint on the
class website: http://tedderchemistry.com/chemistry-i.html
Each student will turn in their own work. This is NOT a group activity. This table and graph are due tomorrow!
______________, _______________
Gas pressure
vs volume
relationship
Last Name
First Name
Name:
Date:
_______-__________-_________
Day number –
Month (3 letters)
–
Year (2 digits)
Description of Work:
________________________
Teacher’s Last Name:
________________________