How do you plot Boyle's Law on a graph?

Answer 1

Boyle's and Charles' laws result in the ideal gas equation. Pressure (P) and volume (V) of a gas at isothermal (no change in temperature) conditions form the relationship: PV = k. If you want to identify the constant k, then plotting P on the y-axis and 1/V on the x-axis, so P = k (1/V), so you can identify the k from the slope of the line through the points. Now, if you have calculated k, then a plot of P on the y-axis and V on the x-axis will result in a curved line. A copy of Boyle's original plot is shown in the related link. Why do I prefer to put volume or the inverse of volume on the x-axis? By convention, the x variable is the independent variable, the one I can change. The experiment was run by changing the volume in the gas chamber and measuring the corresponding pressure. The related link provides much more information.