Question

A gas has a volume of 15 L, a temperature of 300 K, and an unknown initial pressure. Then, the gas expands to 30 L, remains at 300 K, and has a pressure of 300 kPa. What was the initial pressure of the gas?

Answer 1

Using Boyle's Law, the initial pressure of the gas was calculated to be 600 kPa since the pressure and volume are inversely proportional and the temperature remained constant.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the initial pressure of the gas, we can use Boyle's law, which states that the pressure (P) of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume (V) when temperature (T) is constant:

P1 × V1 = P2 × V2

We're given that the initial volume (V1) is 15 L and the final volume (V2) is 30 L. The final pressure (P2) is 300 kPa. Assuming that the temperature remains constant at 300 K throughout the expansion, we can solve for the initial pressure (P1):

P1 = (P2 × V2) / V1

Plugging in the values, we have:

P1 = (300 kPa × 30 L) / 15 L

Therefore:

P1 = 600 kPa

The initial pressure of the gas was 600 kPa.