This all-in-one online Boyle’s Law Calculator performs calculations using the Boyle’s law formula that relates the initial and final pressure and volume values of an ideal gas at the same constant temperature. You can enter the values of any three parameters in the fields of the calculator and find the missing parameter.
P1 V1 = P2 V2
Boyle’s Law
Boyle’s law is an experimental gas law that relates the pressure and volume of a fixed mass of a gas that is close to an ideal gas when its temperature remains constant. The law, also known as the Boyle–Mariotte law, was named after scientist Robert Boyle who confirmed the pressure-volume relationship through experiments and published the results. The French physicist Edme Mariotte later discovered the same law independently of Boyle.
The law in modern formulation states that when the temperature of a sample of an ideal gas is held constant, the volume and the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional. This relationship can be written as the following Boyle’s law formula:
$$P \cdot V = k,$$
where
• \(P \ \) is the pressure of the gas,
• \(V \ \) is the volume of the gas,
• \(k \ \) is a non-zero constant.
The following formula of Boyle’s law is often used:
$$P_1 \ V_1 = P_2 \ V_2,$$
where
• \(P_1 \ \) is the initial pressure,
• \(V_1 \ \) is the initial volume,
• \(P_2 \ \) is the final pressure,
• \(V_2 \ \) is the final volume.
When using the Boyle’s law, remember that it only applies to gases that are close to an ideal gas. An ideal gas consists of particles of negligibly small size that do not interact with each other. The ideal gas model makes it easy to understand the physical meaning of Boyle’s law.
Indeed, an increase in the volume of a gas causes an increase in the average path length of the gas molecule before it collides with the wall of the gas container. This leads to less frequent collisions and, as a result, to a lower gas pressure, provided the gas temperature (and hence the average speed of the molecule) remains constant. The thermodynamic process in which the temperature of the system is maintained constant is called isothermic.
The reverse process occurs when the gas volume decreases. As can be seen from the above formula, when the volume decreases to zero, the pressure of the gas tends to infinity.
Any calculations using the formula of Boyle’s law can be easily done in a fraction of a second using our Boyle’s Law Calculator.
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