If the temperature of a confined liquid is held constant and its pressure is tripled, the volume will

If the temperature of a confined liquid is held constant and its pressure is tripled, the volume will

• A. Increase
• B. Remain the same
• C. Decrease
• D. Double

Answer: (B)

Liquids are nearly incompressible, so at a fixed temperature increasing pressure changes their volume very little. The volume change is governed by the bulk modulus, which for liquids is very large; roughly, the fractional change in volume is ΔV/V ≈ -ΔP/K. Tripling the pressure would produce only a tiny decrease in volume, so the volume remains essentially unchanged. This is why “remains the same” is the best choice. (If it were a gas, we’d expect a much more noticeable change in volume under the same pressure increase.)

Liquids are nearly incompressible, so at a fixed temperature increasing pressure changes their volume very little. The volume change is governed by the bulk modulus, which for liquids is very large; roughly, the fractional change in volume is ΔV/V ≈ -ΔP/K. Tripling the pressure would produce only a tiny decrease in volume, so the volume remains essentially unchanged. This is why “remains the same” is the best choice. (If it were a gas, we’d expect a much more noticeable change in volume under the same pressure increase.)