Valero Mechanical Aptitude Practice Test

If you compress a gas to one quarter of its original volume at constant temperature, the pressure becomes

Halved Doubled Unchanged Quadrupled

Correct Answer:

Quadrupled

Explanation:

With constant temperature, gas pressure is inversely proportional to volume. This is Boyle’s law: P1V1 = P2V2. If you compress the gas so the final volume is one quarter of the original, V2 = V1/4. Plugging into the equation gives P2 = P1V1 / (V1/4) = 4P1. So the pressure becomes four times as high. Intuitively, less space means molecules collide with the container walls more often, and at the same temperature their average speed doesn’t change, so those more frequent collisions raise the pressure.

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