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Physics Paper 1 · P3 · Lesson 3.10

Gas temperature and pressure

Follow particle collisions to explain pressure in a sealed container.

Key ideas1 of 4

What causes gas pressure?

Gas particles move randomly and collide with container walls. These collisions exert forces on the walls. Pressure is force per unit area, caused by many collisions.

Gas particles in a container. An arrow shows a particle travelling into the right wall; the collision exerts a force on that wall.

Particles do not need to be touching all the time to exert pressure.

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Topic resources and sources

Daily 5 · Exam practice · A4 revision sheet

All P3 content here is shared by Foundation and Higher Tier. Stretch questions combine the core ideas; they are not additional Higher Tier-only content.

AQA Combined Science Trilogy specification · 6.3.3.1. Original notes, questions and diagrams. Particle diagrams are simplified; animation speeds and experimental numbers are illustrative.

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