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Question
why are scuba tanks stored in the shade rather than the sun? use a gas law to explain your answer.
The ideal gas law (or Gay - Lussac's Law, a special case of the ideal gas law when volume is constant, \( \frac{P_1}{T_1}=\frac{P_2}{T_2} \)) explains this. SCUBA tanks have a fixed volume. When a tank is in the sun, the temperature (\( T \)) of the gas inside increases. According to the gas law, if volume (\( V \)) is constant (tank volume doesn't change) and the amount of gas (\( n \)) is constant, an increase in temperature leads to an increase in pressure (\( P \)) (from \( PV = nRT \), if \( V \), \( n \), \( R \) are constant, \( P\propto T \)). High pressure can cause the tank to rupture, so storing in the shade keeps the temperature low, preventing excessive pressure build - up.
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SCUBA tanks are stored in the shade because of the ideal gas law (\( PV = nRT \)) (or Gay - Lussac's Law for constant volume: \( \frac{P_1}{T_1}=\frac{P_2}{T_2} \)). The tank has a fixed volume (\( V \)) and fixed amount of gas (\( n \)). Sunlight increases the temperature (\( T \)) of the gas inside. Since \( P\propto T \) (at constant \( V \) and \( n \)), higher temperature raises the pressure (\( P \)) of the gas. Excessive pressure could rupture the tank, so storing in the shade keeps temperature (and thus pressure) low to avoid damage.