What does Charles's Law indicate about the relationship between volume and temperature of a gas?

Charles's Law states that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature, provided the pressure remains constant. This means that as the temperature of a gas increases, its volume also increases, and vice versa. This relationship can be expressed mathematically as ( V \propto T ) (where ( V ) is the volume and ( T ) is the absolute temperature in Kelvin).

The concept behind this law is rooted in the kinetic molecular theory, which posits that as the temperature of a gas increases, the kinetic energy of the gas molecules increases. Consequently, the gas molecules move faster and collide with the walls of their container more forcefully, which results in an increase in volume if the pressure is held constant.

Understanding this relationship is essential for various applications in chemistry and physics, particularly in processes involving gases, where temperature and volume can influence the behavior of gas mixtures, engine designs, and even safety considerations in pressurized systems.

Other choices do not align with Charles's Law: the first suggests an inverse relationship, which contradicts the direct proportionality; the second implies that volume does not change with temperature, which is inaccurate; and the last option relates to pressure changes, rather than volume and temperature.