A balloon containing methane gas has a volume of 4.17 L at 77.0 °C . What volume will the balloon occupy at 154 °C ?

Answer 1

Makesia,

Charles' Law, one of the simple gas laws, would be used to solve this question. It shows a relationship between temperature and volume. The equation is:

V₁/T₁ = V₂/T₂

The ones represent initial conditions, and the twos represent final conditions.

Temperatures must be in Kelvin, not Celsius before you can use this equation.

To convert to Kelvin (K) add 273 to your Celsius temperature.

So, for T₁ ..... 77.0 + 273 = 350 K

For T₂ ------ 154 + 273 = 427 K

V₁ = 4.17 L as that's the volume that's connected to T₁. We're trying to find the new volume which is V₂

Plugging the numbers in their respective places in the equation we get:

4.17 L/350 K = V₂/427 K

V₂ = (4.17 L × 427 K)/350 K

V₂ = 5.08 L

The answer is reasonable because Charles' Law expresses a relationship that as temperature increases so does volume, as vice versa.