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Matter

Compressing a gas, and changing its volume

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

What happens to a gas when the pressure on it rises or falls, why gases compress easily, how volume and pressure are linked at constant temperature, and why a crisp bag swells uphill.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Why can a gas be compressed easily when a liquid or a solid cannot?

Key term

What happens to the pressure of a gas when it is compressed into a smaller space at a constant temperature?

Key term

A sealed bag of crisps swells as it is carried up a mountain. Explain why.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What happens to a gas when the pressure applied to it is increased?

    Model answer

    It is compressed into a smaller volume.

  2. 2

    Why can a gas be compressed easily when a liquid or a solid cannot?

    Model answer

    The molecules of a gas are far apart with large gaps between them, so they can be pushed much closer together.

  3. 3

    In which direction does the pressure of a gas produce a force on a surface?

    Model answer

    It produces a net force at right angles to the surface.

  4. 4

    What happens to a gas if the pressure applied to it is reduced?

    Model answer

    It expands to fill a larger volume.

  5. 5

    What happens to the pressure of a gas when it is compressed into a smaller space at a constant temperature?

    Model answer

    The pressure increases, because the same number of molecules hit each unit area of the container more often.

  6. 6

    A sealed bag of crisps swells as it is carried up a mountain. Explain why.

    Model answer

    The air pressure outside falls with height while the gas inside keeps pushing outwards, so the gas expands.

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