Lab Instructions
Module Two Lab Activity
Kinetic Theory of Gases – A Virtual PhET Lab
After completing this lab activity, the students should be able to:
• Conduct an experiment to confirm gas laws • Confirm gas laws through experimental and theoretical calculations • Write a lab report
Lab Report
The lab report must include the following:
• Title • Introduction • Experimental Details or Theoretical Analysis • Results • Discussion • Conclusions and Summary • References
Please visit the following website to learn more about lab reports:
ACS Format for Laboratory Reports
An example of a lab report is given on the following website:
Professor K – sample lab report
Lab Activity
Please follow the steps given below to conduct the experiment:
• This lab requires you to produce a lab report to “Confirm Gas Laws.” This is the “Title” of your lab report.
• Read the relevant chapters on gas laws and add an “Introduction.”
You conduct this lab by connecting to the PhET website by clicking on the link given below (or where applicable through the embedded simulation on the lab page):
Gas Properties
Attribution:
PhET Interactive Simulations University of Colorado Boulder https://phet.colorado.edu
(If you cannot use the above simulation or cannot get to the website by clicking on the link, please copy and paste the link into your browser. If the simulation is not running, please check if you have the latest Java, Adobe Flash, or HTML5 software [depending on the simulated lab]. If you download the relevant software and attempt to run the simulation and it is still not working, please call the IT helpdesk. It also could be that your computer does not have sufficient space to run the simulation. Please check all the possibilities).
• For this experiment, you use the “Ideal” section of the simulation. After you click the ideal section of the simulation, please note the controls on the top left side of the simulation. By, clicking on “Velocity,” “Temperature,” and “Pressure,” you can control the experiment. By clicking on the “Width” you will get the measurement of the one side of the experimental chamber. When you click on the + sign of the “Particle” you get a choice of red and blue particles and you can select one color for this experiment and click the arrows to the extreme end and you will get “50.” After you add particles to the chamber, you can control the temperature by moving the scale on the bucket at the bottom to increase or decrease the temperature. This information constitutes the “Experimental Details” section of the lab report. You must keep a record of all the values appearing on the screen as experimental values for the scenario. These values also form part of the “Results” section of the lab report. Now, complete the theoretical calculations to prove the laws given under lab scenario section. These calculated values and the experimental values both form the “Results” section of the lab report. You must at least conduct two experiments for each law to confirm them.
• Now, you can complete the “Discussion” section of your lab report by comparing the values and discussing any differences in the theoretical and experimental values and any other information relevant to the experiment.
• Complete the lab report by adding a summary to the “Conclusion” section of your lab report. • Submit the lab report to the relevant Canvas Dropbox
Please watch the following video to learn more about gas laws.
Explaining the Gas Laws in Chemistry – Volume, Temperature, Pressure, Moles….Made Easy –
YouTube
Lab Scenario
1. Confirm Boyle’s law. PV = k
2. Confirm Charles’ law. V/T = K
3. Confirm Gay-Lussac’s Law. PT = K
