Apologia Chemistry: Charles Law Lab

We will not do gas laws (Module 12) until Spring, when I’ll do Module 2.  But, my husband, Rob, needed an extrapolation lab for his Statistics class.  I suggested the Charles Law lab.  Charles Law demonstrates the relationship of volume and temperature in gases.  This lab uses 10 mL plastic syringes with caps in different beakers of water at various temperatures.  The volume of the trapped air in the syringe varies with the water temperature.  (Gas molecules are further apart in warm environment and closer together in a cold environment.). Rob is going to do the lab and have the kids graph, plot, and extrapolate the linear regression.  He wants the kids to organize and present the data, too.  

I’ll do the same lab next spring with Chemistry.  Normally, I do this Charles Law Lab.  (I use a side arm flask and closed rubber stopper.). Instead, I’ll do a demo with the side arm flask to introduce Charles Law.  The kids will repeat the lab with syringes.  So much easier!  (Imagine glass flasks, glass beakers, hot plates—all expensive and fragile.). I’ll post pix when Rob does the lab next week.