1. The Professional Development Service for Teachers is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan Verification of Boyle’s Law using a pressure sensor and a datalogger T.H.

2. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 2 Apparatus

3. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 3 Apparatus

4. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 4 Method  Connect the pressure sensor to the datalogger

5. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 5 Method  Set the syringe to 20 cm 3.

6. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 6 Method  Connect the syringe to the pressure sensor.

7. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 7 Method  Open your datalogging software, e.g. DataStudio.

8. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 8 Method  Click “Create Experiment”.

9. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 9 Method  Choose the correct sensor.

10. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 10 Method  Choose “Digits” from the display list.

11. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 11 Method  Click “Start” and record the volume of air in the syringe and the pressure, p, from the display.

12. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 12  Repeat, changing the volume, V, of air in the syringe by pressing the piston.  Wait a moment for the air to return to room temperature after changing its volume.  Graph the pressure, p, against 1/V.

13. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 13 Use the following table to draw a suitable graph to verify Boyle’s law.

14. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 14 Remember! Boyle’s law states that, for a fixed mass of gas, the pressure is inversely proportional to the volume as long as the temperature remains constant.

15. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 15 Note: Don’t forget to draw a new table, using 1/V instead of V.

16. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 16 Graph the points from the second table and draw the best straight line.

17. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 17 A straight line graph through the origin shows that p is proportional to 1/V. This verifies Boyle’s law.

18. PDST Resources for Leaving Certificate Physics 18 Sources of Error  Take the readings from the syringe at eye level to avoid the error of parallax.  Pause between readings to allow the air in the syringe to return to room temperature. © Tom Healy, Cabinteely Community School, Dublin.