Learning Objectives Derive the ideal gas law from the constituent gas laws To use the ideal gas law to describe the behavior of a gas. In this module, the relationship between pressure, temperature, volume, and amount of a gas are described and how these relationships can be combined to give a general expression that describes the behavior of a gas. Deriving the Ideal Gas Law Any set of relationships between a single quantity (such as \(V\)) and several other variables (\(P\), \(T\), and \(n\)) can be combined into a single expression that describes all the relationships simultaneously. The three individual expressions were derived previously: Boyle’s law \[V \propto \dfrac{1}{P} \;\; \text{@ constant n and T}\] Charles’s law \[V \propto T \;\; \text{@ constant n and P}\] Avogadro’s law \[V \propto n \;\; \text{@ constant T and P}\] Combining these three expressions gives \[V \propto \dfrac{nT}{P} \label{10.4.1}\] which shows that the volume of a gas is proportional to the number of moles and the temperature and inversely proportional to the pressure. This expression can also be written as \[V= {\rm Cons.} \left( \dfrac{nT}{P} \right) \label{10.4.2}\] By convention, the proportionality constant in Equation \(\ref{10.4.1}\) is called the gas constant, which is represented by the letter \(R\). Inserting R into Equation \(\ref{10.4.2}\) gives \[ V = \dfrac{RnT}{P} = \dfrac{nRT}{P} \label{10.4.3}\] Clearing the fractions by multiplying both sides of Equation \(\ref{10.4.4}\) by \(P\) gives \[PV = nRT \label{10.4.4}\] This equation is known as the ideal gas law . An ideal gas is defined as a hypothetical gaseous substance whose behavior is independent of attractive and repulsive forces and can be completely described by the ideal gas law. In reality, there is no such thing as an ideal gas, but an ideal gas is a useful conceptual model that allows us to understand how gases respond to changing conditions. As we shall see, under many conditions, most real gases exhibit behavior that closely approximates that of an ideal gas. The ideal gas law can therefore be used to predict the behavior of real gases under most conditions. The ideal gas law does not work well at very low temperatures or very high pressures, where deviations from ideal behavior are most commonly observed. Significant deviations from ideal gas behavior commonly occur at low temperatures and very high pressures. Before we can use the ideal gas law, however, we need to know the value of the gas constant R. Its form depends on the units used for the other quantities in the expression. If V is expressed in liters (L), P in atmospheres (atm), T in kelvins (K), and n in moles (mol), then \[R = 0.08206 \dfrac{\rm L\cdot atm}{\rm K\cdot mol} \label{10.4.5}\] Because the product PV has the units of energy, R can also have units of J/(K•mol): \[R = 8.3145 \dfrac{\rm J}{\rm K\cdot mol}\label{10.4.6}\] Standard Conditions of Temperature and Pressure Scientists have chosen a particular set of conditions to use as a reference: 0°C (273.15 K) and \(\rm1\; bar = 100 \;kPa = 10^5\;Pa\) pressure, referred to as standard temperature and pressure ( STP ). \[\text{STP:} \hspace{2cm} T=273.15\;{\rm K}\text{ and }P=\rm 1\;bar=10^5\;Pa\] Please note that STP was defined differently in the past. The old definition was based on a standard pressure of 1 atm. We can calculate the volume of 1.000 mol of an ideal gas under standard conditions using the variant of the ideal gas law given in Equation \(\ref{10.4.4}\): \[V=\dfrac{nRT}{P}\label{10.4.7}\] Thus the volume of 1 mol of an ideal gas is 22.71 L at STP and 22.41 L at 0°C and 1 atm , approximately equivalent to the volume of three basketballs. The molar volumes of several real gases at 0°C and 1 atm​ are given in Table 10.3, which shows that the deviations from ideal gas behavior are quite small. Thus the ideal gas law does a good job of approximating the behavior of real gases at 0°C and 1 atm​. The relationships described in Section 10.3 as Boyle’s, Charles’s, and Avogadro’s laws are simply special cases of the ideal gas law in which two of the four parameters (P, V, T, and n) are held fixed. Gas Molar Volume (L) He 22.434 Ar 22.397 H2 22.433 N2 22.402 O2 22.397 CO2 22.260 NH3 22.079 Summary The ideal gas law is derived from empirical relationships among the pressure, the volume, the temperature, and the number of moles of a gas; it can be used to calculate any of the four properties if the other three are known. Ideal gas equation : \(PV = nRT\), where \(R = 0.08206 \dfrac{\rm L\cdot atm}{\rm K\cdot mol}=8.3145 \dfrac{\rm J}{\rm K\cdot mol}\) The empirical relationships among the volume, the temperature, the pressure, and the amount of a gas can be combined into the ideal gas law , PV = nRT . The proportionality constant, R , is called the gas constant and has the value 0.08206 (L•atm)/(K•mol), 8.3145 J/(K•mol), or 1.9872 cal/(K•mol), depending on the units used. The ideal gas law describes the behavior of an ideal gas , a hypothetical substance whose behavior can be explained quantitatively by the ideal gas law and the kinetic molecular theory of gases. Standard temperature and pressure (STP) is 0°C and 1 atm. The volume of 1 mol of an ideal gas at STP is 22.41 L, the standard molar volume .