Application of Gas Laws Case Study Due Date__________________

HMSA Chemistry

Part 1: Gas Laws and Scuba Diving

Read the accompanying article “Gas Laws & SCUBA Diving”. Answer the following questions

completely on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Why does diving 30m below sea level affect our bodies more than being in a building 30m

above sea level?

2. What parts of a diver’s body are most affected by pressure changes?

3. State Boyle’s Law.

4. Why don’t SCUBA diver’s lungs collapse as they descend?

5. What would happen to a diver who does not exhale while surfacing from a 30 m dive?

Explain in terms of Boyle’s Law.

6. State Henry’s Law.

7. What gas is associated with causing bubbles in the blood and other body fluids?

8. What is another name for decompression sickness?

9. Describe how increased pressure in the chamber relieves symptoms of decompression

sickness.

10. What is nitrogen narcosis?

11. Which gas law explains why air contaminants (like trace amounts of CO) are more

dangerous when the total air pressure is higher? Explain.

12. Is the relationship between the temperature of water and the solubility of a gas in it a

direct or inverse relationship? Explain.

13. Use your answer to #12 to explain why it is dangerous for a diver to take a hot shower

after a deep dive.

Part 2: Gas Laws and “Deflategate”

Read the accompanying article “Deflategate: A Real Application of the ideal gas law” and

answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Will a change in temperature affect the pressure that is measured using a gauge? If so, use

kinetic molecular theory to explain how pressure and temperature are related.

2. Describe quantitatively how pressure and temperature are related. T is explanation should

include an equation.

3. If a football is initially inf ated to 12.5 psi as measured with a gauge at a temperature of 22

°C, what will the gauge pressure of the football be when the temperature is 9 °C? show

work!

4. When moved from a cold environment to a warm environment about how long will it take

the temperature of the footballs to reach the temperature at which the pressure was

originally measured? Use Figures 21 and 22 on pages 42 and 44, respectively, of Appendix 1

of the NFL report.

5. Are the two gauges calibrated such that they read the same pressure? Explain using the

data in Tables 1 and 2.

6. Do the two gauges show a consistent difference? Explain using the data in Tables 1 and 2.

7. Use the data from Tables 1 and 2, your answers to the previous questions, and the Ideal

Gas Law to determine if the Patriots deflated the footballs. Make sure to consider all

possible scenarios, detail how you analyzed the data, and explain how you came to your

conclusions.

8. What are some other factors that could affect air pressure in the footballs? How would

those factors affect your analysis of the data?