In this deck, we'll explore the behaviour of gases, building on the particle model of matter. You'll learn how the tiny, fast-moving particles in a gas create pressure, and how that pressure is affected by changes in temperature and volume. We'll also look at what happens when you do work on a gas, like when you use a bicycle pump.

Imagine a box filled with gas. Inside, there are billions of particles, all moving randomly and at high speeds. These particles are constantly bumping into each other and, crucially, colliding with the inner walls of the box. Each collision exerts a tiny force on the wall.

While the force from a single particle collision is incredibly small, there are countless collisions happening every second. The total effect of all these forces, spread over the area of the container's walls, is what we measure as gas pressure.

Now, let's bring temperature into the picture. The temperature of a gas is a measure of the average kinetic energy of its particles. So, if you heat a gas, you are giving its particles more kinetic energy, which means they move faster.