Question

If the pressure of a 2.00 L sample of gas is 50.0 kPa, what pressure does the gas exert if its volume is decreased to 20.0 mL?

Answer 1

The gas exerts a pressure of 5.00 MPa.

Explanation:

This appears to be a Boyle's Law problem.

Boyle's Law is

`color(blue)(|bar(ul(color(white)(a/a) P_1V_1 = P_2V_2color(white)(a/a)|)))" "`

`P_1 = "50.0 kPa"; V_1 = "2.00 L"`
`P_2 = "?";color(white)(mmmll) V_2 = "20.0 mL" = "0.0200 L"`

We can rearrange Boyle's Law to get

`P_2 = P_1 × V_1/V_2`

∴ `P_2 = "50.0 kPa" × (2.00 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("L"))))/(0.0200 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("L")))) = "5000 kPa" = "5.00 MPa"`