In 1787 the French scientist Jacques Charles observed that when he plotted the graph of volume of a fixed amount of air versus the temperature of the air, the points lay along a straight line. Therefore, he concluded that volume of a gas varies linearly with temperature. Suppose that at 27Âș C a certain amount of air occupies a volume of 500 cm3. When it is warmed to 90Âș C, it occupies 605 cm3.
a) Write the particular equation in slope-intercept form expressing volume in terms of temperature.
b) Predict the volume at 60Âș C.
c) The process of predicting a value between two data points is called âinterpolationâ.
What is the origin of the word?
d) Predict the volume at 300Âș C.
e) The process of predicting a value beyond any given data points is called
âextrapolationâ. What is the origin of this word?
f) Extrapolate your mathematical model back to the point where the volume is zero.
That is, find the temperature-intercept.
g) What is the special name given to the temperature in part f)?
