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The ideal gas law is closely related to energy: The units on both sides of the equation are joules. The right-hand side of the ideal gas law equation is This term is roughly the total translational kinetic energy (which, when discussing gases, refers to the energy of translation of a molecule, not that of vibration of its atoms or rotation) of N molecules at an absolute temperature T , as we will see formally in the next section. The left-hand side of the ideal gas law equation is pV . As mentioned in the example on the number of molecules in an ideal gas, pressure multiplied by volume has units of energy. The energy of a gas can be changed when the gas does work as it increases in volume, something we explored in the preceding chapter, and the amount of work is related to the pressure. This is the process that occurs in gasoline or steam engines and turbines, as we’ll see in the next chapter.
Step 1. Examine the situation to determine that an ideal gas is involved. Most gases are nearly ideal unless they are close to the boiling point or at pressures far above atmospheric pressure.
Step 2. Make a list of what quantities are given or can be inferred from the problem as stated (identify the known quantities).
Step 3. Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (identify the unknown quantities). A written list is useful.
Step 4. Determine whether the number of molecules or the number of moles is known or asked for to decide whether to use the ideal gas law as where N is the number of molecules, or where n is the number of moles.
Step 5. Convert known values into proper SI units (K for temperature, Pa for pressure, for volume, molecules for N , and moles for n ). If the units of the knowns are consistent with one of the non-SI values of R , you can leave them in those units. Be sure to use absolute temperature and absolute pressure.
Step 6. Solve the ideal gas law for the quantity to be determined (the unknown quantity). You may need to take a ratio of final states to initial states to eliminate the unknown quantities that are kept fixed.
Step 7. Substitute the known quantities, along with their units, into the appropriate equation and obtain numerical solutions complete with units.
Step 8. Check the answer to see if it is reasonable: Does it make sense?
We have repeatedly noted that the ideal gas law is an approximation. How can it be improved upon? The van der Waals equation of state (named after the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals , 1837−1923) improves it by taking into account two factors. First, the attractive forces between molecules, which are stronger at higher density and reduce the pressure, are taken into account by adding to the pressure a term equal to the square of the molar density multiplied by a positive coefficient a . Second, the volume of the molecules is represented by a positive constant b , which can be thought of as the volume of a mole of molecules. This is subtracted from the total volume to give the remaining volume that the molecules can move in. The constants a and b are determined experimentally for each gas. The resulting equation is
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