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Charles's Gas Law

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The behavior of gases can be examined by looking at Charles's gas law, which says the volume of a fixed mass of gas at a constant pressure varies directly with its absolute temperature.

This means that as the temperature of a gas is lowered, the molecules move closer together and the volume of the gas decreases proportionally to the drop in temperature. Think about blowing up a balloon indoors and then taking it outside on a cold day. The balloon would get smaller, because the air (gas) inside would shrink in volume. What would happen if you brought the balloon back inside?

 

Figure 14
Charles's gas law
Click on the image to see Charles's gas law in action.