Define Gay Lussac’s Law of Gaseous Volumes

Gay Lussac’s Law of Gaseous Volume Definition

Gay-Lussac’s Law of gaseous volume states that when gases react to form a new gaseous product, the ratio of the volume of gaseous reactant to the volume of gaseous product is a simple whole number ratio, provided the reaction takes place at the same temperature and pressure.

Example of Gay Lussac’s Law of Gaseous Volume

An example of Gay-Lussac’s Law can be demonstrated through the reaction between hydrogen gas (H₂) and oxygen gas (O₂) to form water vapor (H₂O) at a constant temperature and pressure.

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:

2H_2​(g) + O₂​(g)→2H_2​O(g)

According to Gay-Lussac’s Law, the volumes of the reacting gases and the volumes of the gaseous products are in simple whole-number ratios. In this case: 2 volumes of hydrogen gas react with 1 volume of oxygen gas to produce 2 volumes of water vapor.

Gay Lussac’s Law of Gaseous Volume Formula

The formula for Gay-Lussac’s Law is given as:

P₁/T₁ = P₂/T₂

Where P₁ and T₁ are the initial pressure and temperature, respectively, and P₂ and T₂ are the final values of these gas parameters.