Gases are essential to the existence of

life on this planet. Could you imagine how

you, including plants and animals, van
survive without air? The "thin blanket" of
air or gases covering the Earth
(atmosphere) marks the difference between
life and death. Remove it, and the Earth
would be lifeless as the moon's surface,
experiencing extremes in temperature during
the day and at night time. The hot daytime
temperature is enough to fry an egg and the
cold night's temperature can solidify a cup
of coffee.
This guide will help you understand what
gas is, its properties and behaviors, gas
models, laws of gases and many more. We
prepared an easy-to-understand and very
simple brochure to aid your study. We hope
that you absorb every inch of information
in this guide. Enjoy!

- Creators of this guide

 Properties of
Gases
We often hear about gas when we encounter the
three phases of matter. But what really is a gas?

Gas is the state of matter that has undefined

shape and volume. Its molecules are very distant to
each other and it's the reason why gases have
undefined shape. Now, let's look some properties of
gases:

Compressibility
Consider an empty syringe
for injection purposes. Air
particles occupy the space before
the plunger. When the plunger is
pushed, the air particles move
closer together. The force
applied on the plunger compresses
the air. This means, therefore,
that the volume or space occupied
by it has particles that becomes
smaller after compression. Figure 1

For any given volume of a particular gas, the

distance between the molecules of the gas are so
big. When an external force is applied, the
distances between the molecules become smaller,
making the molecules become closer to one another.
The gas has now been compressed.

Did you know that...

Compressibility is also
called volume reduction?
 Pressure
Get a ball or an inflated balloon. Feel the
ball. Is it too hard? Too soft? Or does it feel
just right? Basketball players know the right
feel of the ball. They say the "pressure" is just
right. In the same manner drivers of jeepneys
and cars tell right away if a tire's pressure is
too high or too low. Now, what do they mean by
pressure? Why does air inside a tire or a
basketball exert pressure?

The fast-moving molecules of a gas hit the

walls of the container. As they do, they exert
pressure on the walls of the container
proportional to their velocity and mass.
Pressure is the force exerted per unit area. The
pressure of a gas in a confined space, or a
closed container, is the push of the molecules
of the gas against a unit area of the wall of
the container.

Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2

 Low Density
The density of a gas is about 1/1000 of the
density of the same substance in the liquid or
solid phase.

Gas is a state of matter that has no fixed

shape and no fixed volume. Gases have lower
density than other states of matter, such as
solids and liquids. There is a great deal of
empty space between particles, which have a lot
of kinetic energy

For example, oxygen gas has a density of

0.001429 g/mL at 0 degree Celsius and 1
atmosphere pressure, whereas liquid oxygen has a
density of 1.149 g/mL at -183 degree Celsius and
solid oxygen has a density of 1.426 g/mL at -
252.5 degree Celsius. This is all because of the
large space between the particles of gases.

Figure 3
 Diffusion
Did you ever notice
that when someone
smokes, the smoke
suddenly spreads, and
sometimes even reaching
you and this second-hand
smoke you just received
can end your life in just
a jiffy? This is because
of a property of gases
called "diffusion". Figure 4

Molecules of gases are always in rapid

random, straight line motion, endlessly bumping
against each other and hitting the walls of the
container. The entire space in which the
molecules of a gas move represents the volume of
the gas. An "empty" room is not really empty, it
is "full" of air, because gas spreads throughout
the space available to it.
There are three considerable factors that
affect the rate of diffusion of intermingling
gas molecules: their speeds, diameters and the
attractive forces between then.
For example, hydrogen diffuses rapidly
because hydrogen molecules are smaller and can
move with greater speed than the larger, heavier
molecules of other gases at the same temperature.

Word alert Did you know that...

Diffusion - The tendency of No two gas

fluid molecules to spread out molecules
to available space; tendency of have the
molecules to move from an area
with high concentration to an exact same
area with low concentration. speed?
 Expandability
What happens when a dough of "pandesal"
is placed in an oven? What happens here is the
sane as what you observe when you attach a
rubber balloon to an Erlenmeyer flask, and heat
the flask. These are some situations that prove
that gas do expand when heated. This behavior
exhibited by the gas inside the balloon and the
flask is known as compressibility.

Heating a gas increases the kinetic

energy of the particles, causing the gas to
expand. In order to keep the pressure constant,
the volume of the container must be increased
when a gas is heated.

Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2

Did you know that.. .

Peter J.W. Debye, a Dutch scientist, was

awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for his study of dipole
moments and the diffraction of x rays
and electrons in gases?
 Kinetic Molecular
Theory
The Kinetic Molecular Theory(KMT) is a model for
gases. It was formulated by Ludwig Boltzmann and James
Clark Maxwell in the nineteenth century. It summarizes
the concepts about the characteristics of ideal gases.

1) Gases are made up of very small particles, merely

point masses, widely spread in a container.

2) Particles of gases are always in motion. They move

in straight lines, but in random directions.

3) As particles move, they tend to collide with each

other and with the walls of the container. But
collisions result to no loss of kinetic energy among
molecules. Such collision is described as perfectly
elastic.

4) The average kinetic energy (KE) of moving or

colliding molecules of gases is proportional to the
absolute value.

5) Gas molecules exhibit almost negligible attractions

and repulsion for each other. The molecules thus, move
freely and far as space will allow.

At any given temperature, the molecules of gases have

the same average temperature. Thus, absolute
temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy
of the molecules of a certain gas.
Note:
1 atm = 1 atmosphere = 760 torr =
760 mm = 76 m Hg
Temperature is always in Kelvin.
Word alert!
At absolute zero (0K) molecules Ideal gas - it is
stop moving entirely, the gas is the theoretical
as cold as anything can get. basis of the
Standard Temperature and Kinetic Molecular
Pressure (STP) or Standard Theory of Gases.
Conditions (SC):
T = 0 0C = 273 0K
P = 1 atm or its equivalents
 Gas Laws
The gas laws are a series of mathematical relationships
that relate the following variables:

Temperature

 The temperature of a gas determines the average

kinetic energy of the particles.
 While the average kinetic energy of a collection
of gases at a given temperature will be same, the
 Velocity at which they travel will not. This is
because the mass values of the various gases are
different.
 Temperature is usually measured in either Celsius
or Kelvin.

Volume
1. Gas volumes are expressed four different ways:

 liter
 Cubic centimeter
 Milliliter
 Cubic meter

Pressure
 The force that the gas particles exert over a unit
area:
 Pressure= force/area
 Pressure is a measure of the total force exerted
by the moving particles of a gas as they collide
with the walls of the container.

Note:
For studying changes in properties of gases
with changing temperatures and pressures, a
standard for comparison purposes is useful. The
scientific community uses a set of standard
conditions called standard temperature and
pressure, or STP, which stands for a temperature
of 273K (0°C) and a pressure of 1atm. STP is also
called NTP (normal temperature and pressure).
 Boyle’s Law
In 1662, Robert Boyle, an Irish chemist explained the
relationship between the volume and pressure of a sample of a
gas. According to him, if, at a given temperature, a gas is
compressed, the volume of the gas will decrease and through
careful experiments he found that at a given temperature, the
volume occupied by a gas is inversely proportional to the
pressure. This is known as Boyle’s Law.

Equation:
P = k 1/v
Where:
P = pressure of a gas sample
V = volume of a gas sample
K = a constant
Therefore: PV = k

At a given temperature, the product of the pressure and

volume of a gas must be constant. If the pressure is increased,
the volume must decrease to maintain the constant product. For
a given gas sample to be studied under different pressures, the
following expressions must hold:
P1V1 = P2V2
Where:
P1 = original pressure of a gas sample
V1 = original volume of the sample
P2 = new pressure of a gas sample
V2 = new volume of the sample

Example:
A sample of a gas entrapped in a cylinder with a movable
piston occupies a volume of 720 ml under a pressure of 0.375
atm. What volume will the gas occupy under a pressure of 1.000
atm when the temperature remains constant?

V1 = 720 ml P1 = 0.375 atm

V2 = ? P2 = 1.000 atm
V2 = 360 ml x 0.375 atm/1.000 atm

V = 0.27 ml

Boyle's Law in Action

Breathing is a good example of Boyle's law in operation.

Air is the gas we are most familiar with. The average adult
requires 8500 litres of air each day for normal breathing.
Breathing is an involuntary process in the body. We seldom ask
how we do it, except when we find it difficult to breathe like
when we have colds. Boyle's law helps us understand the process
of breathing.
 Charles’ Law
The French chemist Jacques Alexandre Cesar Charles, in
studying the relationship between the volume of a gas and its
temperature, discovered that the volume of a gas increases by
1/273 for its degree centigrade its temperature is increased.
From this he reasoned that a temperature of -273 degrees
Celsius, was the lowest possible attainable temperature. He
called this temperature absolute temperature, and established
the absolute temperature scale which is related to the
centigrade scale as:
A = 0C + 273
A = 0F + 273
These expressions are used in finding the absolute
temperature when the centigrade or Fahrenheit temperatures are
known. Charle’s Law states that at a given pressure, the volume
occupied by a gas is directly proportional to the absolute
temperature of the gas.
Equation:
V = K T
Where:
V = volume of the gas sample
T = absolute temperature of the gas sample
K = a constant
Therefore:
V/T = k
For a given sample, if the temperature is changed, this ratio
must remain constant, so the volume must change in order to
maintain the constant ratio. The ratio at a new temperature
must be the same as the ratio at the original temperature, so:
V1 = V2 /T1 -= T2
V1T2 = V2T1
Where:
V1 = original volume of sample of gas
T1 = original absolute temperature
V2 = new volume of the sample
T2 = new absolute temperature of the sample
Example:
A given mass of gas has a volume of 150 ml at 25 0C.
What volume will the sample of gas occupy at 45 0C, when the
pressure is held constant?
V1 = 150 ml T1 = 25 + 273 = 298 0K
V2 = ? T2= 45 + 273 = 318 0K
V2 = 150 ml x 318 0K/2980K
V2 = 160 ml

Did you know that...

William Thomson was the one who proposed the Kelvin

Scale? He was appointed Baron Kelvin of Largs in
1892. The name Kelvin was taken from the Kelvin
River near his home in Scotland.
 Gay-Lussac’s Law
Gay-Lussac’s Law states that the pressure of a
certain mass of gas is directly proportional to its
absolute temperature at constant volume.

P1 /T1 = P2/T2

Example:

An LPG tank registers a pressure of 120 atm at a

temperature of 27 0C. If the tank is placed in an air
conditioned compartment and cooled to 10 0C, what will
be the new pressure inside the tank?

P1 = 120 atm T1 = 27 + 273 = 300 0K

P2 = ? T2 = 10 + 273 = 283 0K

P2 = 120 atm x 283 0K /2990K

P2 = 113.6 atm

Combined Gas Law

The Combined Gas Law (Combination of Boyle’s Law
and Charles Law) states that the volume of a certain
mass of gas is inversely proportional to its pressure
and directly proportional to its absolute temperature.

A gas sample occupies 250mm at 27 0C, and 780 mm

pressure. Find its volume at 0 0C and 760mm pressure.

T1 = 270C + 273 = 300 0A

T2 = 00C + 273 = 273 0A

V2 = 250 mm x 2730A/3000A x 780 mm/760 mm = 234 mm

 Ideal Gas Law
An ideal gas is one which follows the gas law perfectly.
Such a gas is non-existent, for no known gas obeys the gas laws
at all possible temperatures. There are two principal reasons
why real gases do not behave as ideal gases;

* The molecules of a real gas has mass, or weight, and the

matter thus contained in them cannot be destroyed.

* The molecules of a real gas occupy space, and thus can be

compressed only so far.

The ideal gas law, also called the general gas equation,
is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a
good approximation of the behavior of many gases under many
conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first
stated by Émile Clapeyron in 1834 as a combination of the
empirical Boyle's law, Charles's law, Avogadro's law, and Gay-
Lussac's law. The ideal gas law is often written as

PV = nRT

Where P, V, and T are pressure, volume and absolute

temperature; n is the number of moles of gas and R is the ideal
gas constant.