Gas Laws Lab

Unit 1 Gas Laws Lab Guide

PhET Gas Properties lab - http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gas-properties

Your lab write-up for this lab will be a minimum of a 15 slide presentation created with Power point or Libre Office. Contact your instructor if you have questions about your lab assignment.
Some information has been provided for you, but still needs to be included on your slides. The areas that are bolded are areas of information that need to be completed by you. Submit your lab write-up in the Unit 1 Gas Laws Lab dropbox by the due date.

Slide 1 - Title – Unit 1: Gas Laws Lab
Name: __________________________________
Data experiment was performed: ___________ Slide 2: Purpose of experiment:
What is the relationship between temperature, volume and pressure of gases? The purpose of this experiment is to graph the relationship between temperature and pressure, temperature and volume and volume and pressure of a gas.
Answer these questions on your slide.
What is the Independent variable?
What is the Dependent variable?

Slide 3: Research:
Your own knowledge cannot be used as a source of research.
Your research should support what you are trying to test.
Research topics include – Properties of gases, gas laws
Write at least 3 sentences showing your research. You may use your lessons or the internet.
You must cite your sources of information - Example
Online lessons – Unit 1, Lessons 1.01 – 1.05, k12.com

Slide 4: Hypothesis:
Is the relationship between temperature and pressure direct relationship or an inverse relationship?
Is the relationship between temperature and volume direct relationship or an inverse relationship?
Is the relationship between volume and pressure direct relationship or an inverse relationship?
Write your 3 hypothesis as an “if, then” statement for these relationships.

Slide 5: Procedure:
Go to the PhET Gas Properties link: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gas-properties
Apply these selections to the interactive PhET simulation. Write a set of procedures that outlines generally what needs to be done for each of the three parts of this lab.
Constant parameter – None;
Gas Chamber – Light species set to 400; Gravity – Zero;
Tools & Options – Click open measurement Tools – select Ruler;
Advanced Options – select Molecules collide
Heat Control – Add or Remove Heat until the thermometer registers 100K.
Use the ruler to measure the volume of the inside of the container.

Slide 6: Equipment:
Label these parts on your screenshot of the lab setup.
PhET Simulation – Gas Properties
Gas Chamber
Pressure Gauge
Pump
Heat Control
Volume Control
Ruler
Options Control

Slide 7: Data:
Part I. Temperature and Pressure
Change the constant parameter – click on Volume
Vary the temperature by using the heat control to add or remove heat and record what happens to the pressure. Click on the pause button to record the temperature, pressure and volume. Include a screenshot of your results.

Temperature
Pressure
Volume

Slide 8: Graph:
Include a graph in your lab write-up of temperature vs. pressure.
Use this website to make the graph - http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

Slide 9: Data:
Part II. Temperature and Volume
Click on the reset button. Reset to the beginning parameters
Constant Parameter: none (start with the none parameter when adding the gas molecules)
Gas in chamber – Light Species 400
Gravity – zero
Temperature – 100 K
Change the constant parameter – Pressure (Now that the molecules are in the gas chamber, change the constant parameter to pressure.)
Vary the temperature by using the heat control to add or remove heat and record what happens to the volume. Make sure to include a measurement at 0K. Measure the volume with the ruler. Click on the pause to record the temperature, volume and pressure. Include a screenshot of your results.

Temperature
Volume
Pressure

Slide 10: Graph:
Include a graph in your lab write-up of temperature vs. volume.
Use this website to make the graph - http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

Slide 11: Data:
Part III. Volume and Pressure
Click on the reset button. Reset to the beginning parameters
Gas in chamber – Light Species 400
Gravity – zero
Temperature – 100 K
Change the constant parameter – Click on Temperature
Vary the volume by changing the size of the container and measure the volume with the ruler. Click on the pause to record the volume, pressure and temperature. Include a screenshot of your results.

Volume
Pressure
Temperature

Slide 12: Graph:
Include a graph in your lab write-up of volume vs. pressure.
Use this website to make the graph - http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

Slide 13:

Part IV. Investigate Absolute Zero
Click on the reset button.
Constant parameter - None
Gas in chamber – Heavy Species 40
Gravity – less than halfway
Vary the temperature by using the heat control to add or remove heat until the temperature reaches 0K and record what happens to the volume. Measure the volume with the ruler. Click on the pause to record the temperature, volume and pressure. Include a screenshot of your results.
Volume
Pressure
Temperature

Slide 14: Error Analysis –
Error analysis is identifying sources of error in your experiment.
Error can be identified by looking at your data. Data that seems completely different from other trials may indicate a source of error.
You need to specify which part of the experiment the error was in.
Your statement should not include any pronouns
If you did not identify any sources of error, use this statement.
There were no identifiable sources of error. All data was consistent.

Slide 15: Summary of Results:
Did your data support your hypothesis?
Summary of Results consists of three sentences
For sentence 1, you have three choices. This has to do with the validity of the experiment. Remember that your hypothesis is an educated guess so you need to state how the hypothesis compares to the outcome of your experiment.
You will need to determine which one you will choose based upon your data as it relates to your hypothesis.
Choice 1. The hypothesis was supported by the outcome of this experiment, therefore the experiment is valid. This means that your hypothesis and outcome were the same.
Choice 2. The hypothesis was not supported by the outcome of this experiment although the question was addressed, therefore the experiment is valid. This means that your hypothesis does not match your outcome but the data shows that the hypothesis was tested appropriately.
Choice 3. The hypothesis and question were not represented in the outcome of this experiment, therefore the experiment is not valid. This means that the experiment did not test your hypothesis. You will most likely never choose this one because your laboratory guide will help you in correctly formulate a testable hypothesis.
For sentence 2, you need to restate your purpose. The purpose of the experiment on slide 2 was written before you performed the lab so now you need to change the verb tense to reflect the past tense.
Sentence 3 is a statement of what DID happen in the experiment that answers your question at the beginning and uses your observations and data to back up your statement.

Slide 16: Conclusion
What did you observe? What evidence supports your findings? Give a real world application.
Use your data to make inferences about how gases behave. Does your research support your findings? Why?
Write 3-5 sentences in paragraph form.
Use the lab discussion questions to help you in writing your conclusion, but do not include them on your slide. You must include data from your experiment to back up your conclusion.

1. Consider all parts of the experiments that you have just performed.
What conclusions can you make about the relationship between the volume of a gas and its temperature if the pressure is kept constant?
What conclusions can you make about the relationship between the volume of a gas and its pressure if the temperature is kept constant?
What conclusions can you make about the relationship between the pressure of a gas and its temperature if the volume is kept constant?
2. What happens to the gas molecules as the temperature approaches absolute zero? Use the word “kinetic energy” in your explanation.