Certified Transport Registered Nurse Certification Practice Exam

Which gas law would be most relevant to understanding how an oxygen tank operates?

1. Henry's Law

2. Dalton's Law

3. Charles' Law

4. Boyle's Law

The correct answer is: Boyle's Law

Understanding the operation of an oxygen tank is best related to Boyle's Law, which states that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume when the temperature is held constant. In practical terms, this means that if you compress the gas (reducing its volume), the pressure will increase, and conversely, if the gas is allowed to expand, the pressure will decrease. In the context of an oxygen tank, the gas is stored at high pressure. As a nurse working in transport, you need to comprehend that when oxygen is released from the tank, its volume increases as it flows into the delivery system, which results in a drop in the pressure of the gas within the tank. This principle is crucial for understanding how much oxygen will be available for the patient as they breathe in the gas. Moreover, managing the tank effectively during transport requires awareness of how the pressure changes as oxygen is consumed. Other gas laws, such as Henry's Law, Dalton's Law, and Charles' Law, address different aspects of gas behavior but are not as directly applicable to the mechanical functioning of an oxygen tank. Henry's Law deals with gas solubility in liquids, Dalton's Law pertains to the partial pressures of gases in a mixture, and Charles'