What is the effect on temperature when you increase the pressure of a confined gas?

• A. Temperature decreases.
• B. Temperature remains constant.
• C. Temperature increases.
• D. Temperature becomes zero.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how pressure, volume, and temperature relate for a gas in a fixed space. When a gas is confined so its volume doesn’t change, increasing the pressure means the temperature must rise. This follows the ideal gas relation PV = nRT: with volume V and amount n constant, P is proportional to T, so bumping up P forces T upward.

Physically, compressing the gas does work on it, adding energy to the gas molecules and raising their average kinetic energy, which is what temperature measures. If the container allows some heat to escape, the temperature rise can be smaller, but the fundamental relationship remains: increasing pressure at constant volume leads to an increase in temperature.

So, the temperature increases.