ChemixaLEARN CHEMISTRY

Gas laws piston lab

Gas laws describe how pressure, volume, temperature, and amount of gas are linked. This simulation puts you in control of a piston: push it, heat the gas, or add particles, and the particle animation shows exactly why the numbers change. Learning goals: state Boyle's, Charles's, and Gay-Lussac's laws and when each applies; convert between pressure, volume, and temperature conditions; explain gas behavior using particle motion and collisions.

Pressure = 623.5 kPa

At constant temperature, halving the volume doubles the pressure (Boyle's law: P₁V₁ = P₂V₂).

Controls

  • Temperature slider: Heats or cools the gas; particle speed changes accordingly.
  • Volume slider: Moves the piston to compress or expand the gas.
  • Particle count: Adds or removes gas particles, changing the amount in moles.
  • Readouts: Shows the live pressure, volume, temperature, and mole values.

The chemistry

Assumptions

  • The gas behaves ideally: particles have no volume and no attractions.
  • Temperature is always in kelvin.
  • The container is sealed except when you change the particle count.

Guided activity

  1. Fix the temperature and halve the volume; record how the pressure changes.

  2. Fix the pressure and raise the temperature; observe the volume response.

  3. Keep volume fixed, heat the gas, and watch the pressure climb.

  4. Change the number of particles and confirm pressure scales with moles.

Challenge questions

  1. Use Boyle's law to predict the pressure after compressing the gas to one third of its volume.

  2. Explain at the particle level why heating a rigid container raises pressure.

  3. Find two different sets of conditions that give the same pressure.