The gas laws and the labs

The balloon that was forced into the flask was using Gay-Lusaac's gas law. His law states that the volume will stay constant and pressure and temperature are directly related. If pressure increases, volume will increase and vice-versa. The flask was heated( an increase in temperature) and the balloon was placed over the mouth of the flask. The pressure around the flask became greater than the pressure within the flask because once the flask was cooled off, the molecules within the flask moved slower, causing the balloon to sink into the flask.

The "popping" straw lab in which the straw was wound very tight, flicked and then popped used Boyle's Law. Boyle's Law states that the temperature will stay constant and the pressure and volume are inversely related. If pressure increases, volume will decrease and vice-versa. The straw was twisted causing a decrease in volume, which caused more collisions and increased the pressure. The pressure was then released by the flicking of the straw and the volume went back to normal.

Charles's Law states that the pressure will stay constant and the temperature and the volume are directly related. If the temperature increases, the volume will increase. During the Toy Story balloon lab the balloon without heated air sat stationary on the ground. After the balloon was heated, the air around it became less dense and the volume increased and the balloon rose. After the air around the balloon cooled down, the volume decreased and the balloon floated to the ground. The pressure stayed the same throughout the entire lab.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLES

Boyle's Law

-- Deep sea fish die when brought to the surface.

The temperature within the fish stays constant as the fish rises to the surface. The pressure increases, which causes the volume of gases inside the fish to increase. This ultimately causes the fishes insides to burst and kill the fish.

Charles's Law

--Basketball loses shape in hot sun

A new basketball is placed out in the sun for long period of time (1 month). The ball will eventually increase in size due to the increase in volume. If the ball was placed back into normal conditions, it would regain it's shape.

Gay-Lusaac's Law

--A propane tank bursts

If a propane tank is left out in the sun with even a little amount of propane inside, there could most likely be an explosion. If the temperature increases, (which it will because its a hot summer day) the pressure will increase causing the molecules to speed up and it will burst.