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Kristian Custodio, Dylan Claybaugh,

Thomas Key, Joshua Primrose
October 23, 2018

Calculation of the Ideal Gas Constant

Results:

In this experiment, the relationship between both pressure (​P​) and temperature (​T​) was used to
calculate the ideal gas constant (​R​) by the use of both the ideal gas law and its relationship with
the density of air ( ρ ) and the molar mass of air ( M mol ). Taking the original ideal gas law and
algebraically manipulating it into a form more useful for calculating, the slope generated by
using experimentally obtained data yielded that ​R ​= 8.498 molJ K

Graph 1:​ Plot of Pressure (P) vs. Temperature (T)

Graph 1: ​Plot of Pressure (kPa) as a function of Temperature (K). Also plotted is the best fit line obtained using the least
squares linear regression.
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Analysis:

Applying the best-fit line to the data displayed in Graph 1 gives the slope of the line to be

Pa
m = 352.000 ± 0.808 K

Where our slope (​m​), which has been converted to pascals for ease of calculation, is the
relationship pressure (​P​) over the temperature (​T​). This in combination with the ideal gas law
yields the relationship in equation 1.

m = Mρ R (Eq.1)
mol

Solving for the gas constant (​R​), gives us the relationship:

M mol
R= ρ
m (Eq.2)

Density of air ( ρ ) and the molar mass of air ( M mol ) have known literature values listed below.

ρ = 1.2 mkg3 (Knight 2015)

kg
M mol = 0.02897 mol
(Knight 2015)

The line of best fit gives the intercept of the line to be

I ntercept = − 7.590 ± 0.272 kP a

Interpretation & Discussion:

Using the slope and the uncertainty of the least squares linear regression, as well as Equation 2,
the value for the universal gas constant is determined to be

J
R = 8.4980 ± 0.0195 mol K

Because the accepted value for the universal gas constant is 8.314 molJ K (Knight 2015) , the
determined value of 8.498 molJ K indicates that not all factors were accounted for and resulted in a
value that is higher than expected. Potential causes include the heating element raising the
temperature of the water at fluctuating rates as well as hotspots in the heating element giving
inconsistent temperature readings. It should be expected that the y-intercept of the line of best fit
to be zero. Because the value of the y-intercept is negative, it can be inferred that the initial
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pressure within the flask and the outside air. In order to improve the precision and accuracy of
the experiment, heating the flask more gradually and using a more consistent heating element
would reduce uncertainty. Ensuring the pressure is normalized within the flask will prevent the
y-intercept from being a non-zero value.

Works Cited

Knight, Randall. (2015). ​Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach. ​Boston,
Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.