How Does Key Stage 3 Chemistry - Pressure in Gases Work?

Pressure in gases is all about how gas particles bounce around and push on things like containers or our ears, just like when you're playing with a ball in a bouncy castle.

Imagine you have a balloon full of air. Inside the balloon, tiny invisible balls (we call them particles) are zooming around like kids on a playground. When there are more particles inside the balloon, they bump into the sides more often, and that makes the balloon feel tighter or even bigger, just like when more kids jump into a bouncy castle.

If you squeeze the balloon, you're putting it in a smaller space. The same number of particles now have less room to move around, so they bump into the sides harder, this makes the pressure go up, just like when more kids jump into the same bouncy castle and it feels squishier.

If you put the balloon in the fridge, the particles slow down. They don’t bounce as hard or as often, so they push less, this makes the pressure go down, just like when kids start to get tired and move slower on the playground, it feels easier to bounce around.

So, pressure in gases is about how many particles there are and how fast they're moving. Simple!