Boyle's Law: Verification

Boyle's law says that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume. Below is a table of data presented by Robert Boyle in 1662. Boyle and an assistant carried out an experiment in which a parcel of gas was subjected to a steadily increased applied pressure. They measured the volume of the gas and the total pressure (in arbitrary units) at various intervals. Demonstrate that these data obey Boyle's law. (Hint: What relationship does Boyle's law say the data should have to each other? Show the data have that relationship.)
volumepressure
4829.125
4630.5625
4431.9375
4233.5
4035.3125
3837
3639.3125
3441.625
3244.1875
3047.0625
2850.3125
2654.3125
2458.8125
2361.3125
2264.0625
2167.0625
2070.6875
1974.125
1877.875
1782.75
1687.875
1593.0625
14100.4375
13107.8125
12117.5625
(Download a copy of the Boyle data in a spreadsheet file by clicking here.)

Reference

Robert Boyle, A Defence of the Doctrine Touching the Spring And Weight of the Air (1662)
Copyright 2003 by Carmen Giunta. Permission is granted to reproduce for non-commercial educational purposes.

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