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:
2H2(g) + O2(g)→2H2O(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.