Demonstrating Gas Laws Lab
Group II
Introduction
The three gas laws discover the relationship of pressure, temperature, volume, and amount of gas. Boyle's Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as the pressure decreases. Charles' Law tells us that the volume of gas increases as the temperature increases. A third gas law may be derived as a corollary to Boyle's and Charles' laws. According to Gay-Lussac's Law, for a given amount of gas held at constant volume, the pressure is proportional to the absolute temperature.
Methodology
* Materials
We will need several materials for the three demonstrations of gas laws. For Part 1, the Cartesian Diver, we will need a bottle with cap, and a medicine dropper. For Part 2, the Rising Water Experiment, a birthday candle, food coloring, matches, a shallow dish, petroleum jelly and an Erlenmeyer flask. For the last experiment, the Invisible Giant, we will need a pair of beaker tongs, a hot plate, an empty aluminum soda can, a beaker of ice water and some ice. * Procedure
Part 1: The Cartesian Diver
First, fill the bottle to the very brim with water. Drop the medicine dropper with the bulb up and close the bottle tightly. The medicine dropper should float in the water. Squeeze the bottle gently and record your observations. Stop squeezing the bottle and again, record your observations.
Part 2: Happy Birthday
First, put a small glob of petroleum jelly in the center of the shallow dish. Then, stand a birthday candle upright in the petroleum jelly. Don’t use a lot of extra petroleum jelly or the demonstration won’t work properly. Add 1 – 2 centimeters of water to the dish. Add a drop or two of food coloring. Light the birthday candle. Lastly, place the Erlenmeyer flask mouth down over the candle. Stand it up right in the dish over the candle. Record your observations.
Part 3: The Invisible Giant
Add a little bit of water to the empty soda can. Place the soda can on the hot plate and turn