The Ideal Gas Law is an essential equation in chemistry, represented as \( PV = nRT \). In this formula, P stands for pressure, V for volume, n for the number of moles, R is the gas constant, and T is temperature. Unlike the Combined Gas Law, the Ideal Gas Law takes into account the number of gas particles.
Use the Ideal Gas Law when:
- You need to find one of the variables (P, V, n, or T) while the others are known
- Considering the behavior of an 'ideal' gas, which follows the assumptions made in kinetic molecular theory
- Working with situations where the amount of gas might change
The ideal gas law works best when dealing with hypothetical gases under normal conditions. It gives a good approximation for real gases too, under many conditions.