When considering the gas laws, the Kelvin temperature scale must be used. The re

Question

When considering the gas laws, the Kelvin temperature scale must be used. The reason for this is that the Kelvin scale is directly proportional to the Kinetic Energy of the paricles, while the centigrade and fahrenheit scales are not. If you double the temperature of a gas, the pressure will double if volume is held constant. This makes sense if we consider that the particles will be striking the sides of the container with twice as much energy.

Let's say we want to double 10o C. The answer would not be 20oC; rather, it will be 293 oC. 10oC is 283 K ( K = oC + 273). Doubling 283K gives 566K. Converting back to oC gives 293oC.

What is the temperature in celcius if we double -7 oC?

Explanation / Answer

-7^oC on doubling gives - 14^oC

But this will not be correct, therefore in kelvin it would be

K= 273-14

K= 259

Doubling 259K gives 518K

Converting back thus gives 259K.

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