According to Boyle's Law, what happens to the volume of a gas when the pressure increases?

Boyle's Law states that for a given mass of gas at a constant temperature, the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional to its volume. This means that as the pressure exerted on a gas increases, the volume of that gas decreases. The principle can be mathematically expressed as P1V1 = P2V2, where P represents pressure and V represents volume; this shows that if pressure increases (P2 > P1), the corresponding volume must decrease (V2 < V1) to maintain equality.

For instance, consider a syringe filled with air: when you push the plunger in, you increase the pressure inside the syringe, and as a result, the volume of the air decreases. This relationship is fundamental to understanding gas behavior in various medical and paramedic scenarios, such as evaluating respiratory function or using ventilators, where the adjustments of pressure and volume are crucial for effective treatment.