Question

When the product of pressure and volume is plotted against pressure for a given amount of gas the line is obtained is

• A. parallel to x axis
• B. parallel to y axis
• C. linear with positive slop
• D. linear with negative slop

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

parallel to x axis

Answer 2

This question relates to Boyle's Law, which describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas at constant temperature and for a fixed amount of gas.

Boyle's Law states that for a fixed amount of gas at a constant temperature, the pressure (P) is inversely proportional to its volume (V). Mathematically, this is expressed as:

$P \propto \frac{1}{V}$

or

$PV = \text{constant}$

When plotting PV vs P, let the product of pressure and volume be denoted as $Y = PV$, and the pressure be denoted as $X = P$. According to Boyle's Law, at a constant temperature, the value of $PV$ is constant. Let's say $PV = k$, where $k$ is a constant.

So, when we plot $Y$ (which is $PV$) against $X$ (which is $P$), the value of $Y$ remains constant regardless of the value of $X$. This means the graph will be a horizontal line, which is parallel to the x-axis.