Gay-Lussac’s Law: Pressure and temperature are directly related. If one goes up, so does the other (provided that V and n remain constant). As the gas is heated, the atoms move faster and hit the walls of the container with more force (increased pressure).

We can write Gay-Lussac’s Law this way:

Important note: in order to use the equation above, you must measure temperature in Kelvins

Example: A diver’s air tank has a pressure of 3000 psi in a room that is at 12 ^oC, what is the new

pressure if the tank is placed in a fire at 1200 ^oC?

First, convert the temperatures to Kelvins by adding 273

Now it’s your turn: a canister of air is at a pressure of 266 kPa at 20 ^oC, if the canister explodes at 500 kPa, how would it have to be (in ^oC) for this to happen? Answer