Summary

Topic Discussion

Kelvin For scientific work, the Kelvin temperature scale is the scale of
Temperature Scale choice. One Kelvin (K) is equal in size to 1 Celsius degree.
However we can convert from temperature Tc on the Celsius scale
to temperature T on the Kelvin scale by:

Thermometers The operation of any thermometer is based on changes in some

physical property with temperature; this physical property is
called a

Examples are:

Zeroth law of The zeroth low of thermodynamics states that two systems
thermodynamics individually in thermal equilibrium with a third system are in
thermal equilibrium with each other.

Linear Thermal Most substances expand when heated. For linear expansion, an
Expansion object of length Lo experiences a change L in length when the
temperature changes by T:

How a hole in a When temperature changes, a hole in a plate of solid material

plate expands or expands or contracts as if the hole were filled with the
contracts surrounding material.

Volume thermal For volume expansion, the change V in the volume of an object
expansion of volume Vo is given by:

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4.1 THE GAS LAWS

The equation V = Vo T cannot be used to describe the expansion of gases

because gases usually expand to fill the container they are in. It is meaningful
only if the pressure is kept constant.

4.2 EQUATION OF STATE

It is possible to determine the relation between the volume, the pressure, the
temperature, and the mass of a gas. This relation is referred to as the Equation of
State

4.3 BOYLES LAW

Robert Boyle demonstrated experimentally that if the pressure on a gas is doubled

its volume is reduced to half its original volume.

This is Boyles law and it can also be written :

PRACTICAL IMPLICATION

This means that, at constant temperature, if either the pressure or volume of the
gas is allowed to vary, the other variable also changes so that the product PV
remains constant. This is shown by the following plot:

PV GRAPH

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4.4 CHARLES LAW

Jacques Charles also demonstrated experimentally that the temperature also

affects the volume of a gas.

He found that if the pressure is moderate and is kept constant, the volume of a gas
increases with temperature at a nearly constant rate.

VT GRAPH

If a gas could be cooled to -273.15C,

4.5 GUY-LUSSACS LAW (PRESSURE LAW)

Joseph Gay-Lussac discovered a third principle which states that:

At constant volume the pressure of a gas is directly proportional to its Absolute

Temperature.

4.6 THE IDEAL GAS LAW

The three laws can be combined into the a single more general relation

When a gas balloon is blown up it can be seen that the more air is forced into the
balloon, the bigger it gets.
the volume increases in direct proportion to the mass m of the gas present.
Instead of mass m we can use the number of moles, n

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 1 mole is that number of grams of substance numerically equal to the
molecular mass of the substance (eg.
)

Also, in general the number of moles, n, in a given sample of a pure

substance is equal to its mass in grams divided by its molecular mass

Therefore we can write the above relation as

R is called the Universal Gas Constant because its value is found experimentally
to be the same for all gases.

R= =

DEFINITION OF IDEAL

The term ideal is used because real gases do not follow the equation of state
precisely:
i.

ii.

4.7 STANDARD TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE (STP) CONDITIONS

This simply means that

T=
P=

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 Example

Determine the volume of 1mol of any gas at STP assuming it behaves like an
ideal gas.

MANY GASES (FIXED VOLUME)

In many cases, when the problem involves a change in the pressure, temperature
and volume of a fixed amount of gas we have

If P1, V1 and T1 represent the initial variable and P2, V2 and T2 represent the
variable after the change is made, then we write:

Example

An automobile tire is filled to a gauge pressure of 200kPa at 10C. If after driving

100km, the temperature within the tire rises to 40C. What is the pressure within
the tire now?

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5.1 IDEAL GAS LAWS IN TERMS OF MOLECULES

Avogadros Hypothesis
Avogadro stated that equal volumes of gases at the same pressure and temperature
contain equal number of molecules.

(1 gram or mole of a substance contains as many particles (atoms or molecules as

there are in 12grams of the isotope (carbon-12). Experiments show that 12grams
of carbon-12 contains 6.022 1023 atoms

The number of molecules in a mole is known as Avogadros Number, Na

Na = 6.022 1023 molecules/mole for any gas

The total number of molecules N in a gas is equal to the number per mole times
the number of moles thus,

The ideal gas law can be written as

k has a value of

The number of moles, n in a given substance is equal to its mass divided by its
molecular mass thus

Example
A diamond sample which is almost pure carbon has 44.5carats. One carat is equivalent to
a mass of 0.2g. Determine the number of carbon atoms in the diamond

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5.2 THE MOLECULAR INTERPRETATION OF TEMPERATURE

Theory the concept that matter is made up of atoms which are in continual
random motion is called the kinetic theory.

Assumptions To investigate the properties of a gas from the point of view of the
kinetic theory we will make a few assumptions:

Kinetic Theory

1. There are a large number of molecules N,

each of mass, m, moving in random
directions with a variety of speeds

2. The molecules are on average far apart from

each other (i.e., their average separation is
much greater than the diameter of each
molecule)

3. The molecules obey the laws of classical

mechanics, and interact with one another
only when they collide (the potential energy
associated with the weak interactive forces between collisions is small compared
to the kinetic energy and is ignored)

4. Collisions with another molecule or the wall of the vessel are assumed to be
perfectly elastic, like the collisions of perfectly elastic balls.

Average Kinetic Energy

This equation tells us that the average translational kinetic energy of molecules in
a gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature regardless of pressure
and volume.

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Real Gases and Phase Change

The ideal gas law is an accurate description of the behaviour of a real gas as long
as:
a.

b.

Note: To find out what happens to real gases when these two criteria are not
satisfied we have to look at the graph of pressure plotted against volume for a
given amount of gas. (See PV diagram for real gases on OURVLE)

5.3 PV DIAGRAM

Each point on the diagram represents an equilibrium state of the given substance.

The various curves A, B, C and D show how the pressure varies as the volume is
changed at constant temperature for several
different values of temperature.

The dashed curve A represents the

behaviour of a gas as predicted by the ideal
gas law (i.e. PV = constant)

The solid curve A represents the behaviour

of a real gas at the same temperature.

Also note

The curves B and C represent the same gas

at necessarily lower temperatures. The
behaviour deviates even more from the
curves predicted by the ideal gas law (Note
B)

At higher pressure the molecules are closer together.

And, particularly at lower temperatures, the potential energy associated with the
attractive forces between the molecules (which we ignored before) is no longer
negligible compared to the now reduced kinetic energy of the molecule.

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At still lower temperatures, these forces cause liquefaction, and the molecules
become very close together.

Curve D

At low pressures (on the right) the substance is a gas and occupies a large volume.

As the pressure is increased the volume decreases until point b is reached.

Beyond b the volume decreases with no change in pressure (the substance is

gradually changed from the gas to the liquid phase).

At point a all of the substance has changed to liquid and further increases in
pressure reduces the volume only slightly. (Note: liquids are nearly
incompressible)

The area within the tongue-shaped dashed line represents the region where the
gas and liquid phases exist together in equilibrium.

Critical Point

Curve C

Curve C represents the behaviour of the substance at its Critical Temperature.

The point c (the one point where the curve is horizontal ) is called the Critical
Point.

At temperatures less than the critical temperature,

Above the critical temperature

Critical Point Difference between a gas and a vapour

A substance below its critical point in the gaseous state is called a vapour.

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 When above the critical temperature it is called a gas.

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