What does the ideal gas law state?

The ideal gas law is a fundamental relation in thermodynamics that describes the behavior of an ideal gas. It is expressed mathematically as PV = nRT, where:

• P is the pressure of the gas,

• V is the volume it occupies,

• n is the number of moles of the gas,

• R is the universal gas constant, and

• T is the absolute temperature of the gas.

This equation combines several individual gas laws: Boyle's Law (which relates pressure and volume at constant temperature), Charles's Law (which relates volume and temperature at constant pressure), and Avogadro's Law (which relates volume and number of moles at constant temperature and pressure).

The significance of the ideal gas law lies in its ability to predict the state of an ideal gas when provided with sufficient information about pressure, volume, moles, and temperature. An ideal gas is one that follows this law perfectly under a wide range of conditions, though real gases exhibit deviations at high pressures and low temperatures.

This equation allows engineers and scientists to calculate how changes in one variable will affect the others, making it essential for applications involving gases in various engineering fields.