If pressure is added to a gas, what will happen to the temperature?

Prepare for the Basic Engineering Common Core Test 2. Master key concepts with detailed flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each with helpful hints and explanations. Get set for your engineering exam!

When pressure is added to a gas while keeping the volume constant, the temperature of the gas tends to increase. This relationship is explained by Gay-Lussac’s Law, which states that the pressure of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature (in Kelvin) when the volume is held constant.

As pressure increases, the molecules of the gas are forced closer together, which leads to more frequent and energetic collisions among them. This increased molecular activity raises the average kinetic energy of the gas particles, resulting in a higher temperature. Therefore, when additional pressure is applied, you can expect the temperature of the gas to rise as long as no phase changes occur, confirming that the correct answer is indeed that the temperature will increase.

In contrast, as a gas condenses, it typically transforms into a liquid state, which usually occurs at lower temperatures under increased pressure, making it more complex than simply stating that temperature rises.

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