The Gaseous State Tutorial 2012 Semester 1

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CATHOLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE
H2 CHEMISTRY (Syllabus 9647)

THE GASEOUS STATE TUTORIAL

Self-Practice Questions

1. (a) Write out the ideal gas equation. State what each symbol in the equation
represents and indicate its units.

pV = nRT
where, p = pressure of the gas; units in Pa
V = volume of the gas; units in m
3

n = number of moles of the gas; units in mol
R = molar gas constant; 8.31 J K
-1
mol
-1
(given in Data Booklet)
T = temperature of the gas; units in K

(b) Now make use of the ideal equation to rationalize and then sketch the following
graphs of:
(i) volume, V against pressure, p, for a given mass of an ideal gas at a
constant temperature.

pV = nRT
V = nRT (
1
p
)
V = constant (
1
p
) at constant T for a
given mass of gas.
Hence, V

1
p


(ii) V against
1
p
, for a given mass of an ideal gas at a constant temperature.










V
0
P
0
V

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(iii) pV against p, for a given mass of an ideal gas at constant temperature.

pV = nRT
pV = constant at constant T for a given mass of gas.










(iv) V against temperature, T (C) for a given mass of an ideal gas at
constant pressure.

pV = nRT
V =
nR
p
(T)
V = constant (T) at constant p
for a given mass of gas.

Hence, V

T :

(v) , the density against, p for a given mass of an ideal gas at constant
temperature.
pV = nRT =
m
M
r
RT
=
m
V
=
M
r
RT
(p)
= constant (p) at constant T for a given mass of gas.
Hence,

p :

2. On the surface of Venus, the temperature is 470 C and the pressure is 1.00 atm.
What is the volume occupied by 1.00 mol of an ideal gas under these conditions?
V =
5
10 1.01
470) (273 8.31

= 0.0611 m
3

3. An average pair of human lungs contains about 0.5 dm
3
of air after exhalation and
about 3.0 dm
3
after inhalation. Assuming that air in our lungs is at 37C and 1.0 atm,
determine the number of moles of air in a typical breath.
n =
37) (273 8.31
10 2.5 10 1.01
-3 5


= 0.0980 mol
pV
p
0
V
0
T / C - 273

p
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4. A light bulb contains argon gas at pressure of 1.5 atm. After the bulb was switched on
for some time, the temperature rose from 25

C to 120

C. Calculate the new pressure
of argon in the bulb.

p
1
V
T
=
p
2
V
T

1.5 1.01 10
5
(25+273)
=
p
2
(120+273)

p
2
= 1.98 atm

5. The oxygen gas generated in an in-vitro photosynthesis experiment is collected over
water. The volume of the gas collected at 22.0 C is 186 cm
3
. Given that the pressure
of the oxygen is 0.971 atm, calculate the mass of oxygen obtained.

pV = nRT =
m
M
r
RT
m =
PVM
r
RT
=
(

)(
-
)

= 0.235 g

6. An atmospheric chemist isolates a gaseous pollutant. She determines that the density
of the gas is 2.14 g/dm
3
at s.t.p. Which of the following is the pollutant: NO, NO
2
or O
3
?

=
m
V
=
M
r
RT
(p)

M
r
=
5
10 1.01
273 8.31 2.14

= 48.0. Therefore, it is O
3
.

7. Into a 5.00 dm
3
vessel are introduced 2.50 dm
3
of methane at a pressure of 1.01 10
5

Nm
-2
, 7.50 dm
3
of ethane at a pressure of 2.53 10
5
Nm
-2
and 0.500 dm
3
of propane at
a pressure of 2.02 10
5
Nm
-2
. What is the resulting pressure of the mixture?

(2.5 1.01 + 7.5 2.53 + 0.5 2.02) = 5 p
2

p
2
= 4.50 10
5
Nm
-2

Discussion Questions
8. A flask containing 10 g of gas (M
r
= 100) at a pressure of 100 kPa was evacuated by
means of a pump until the pressure was 0.01 kPa. Find the number of gas molecules
left in the flask.

pV = nRT

= constant

n
2
=

= 0.01

= 1.0 10
-5
mol
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No. of molecules = 10
-5
6.02 10
23
= 6.02 x 10
18

9. A vessel contains a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen at 30

C and a pressure of 200 kPa.

After all oxygen has reacted with zinc, the total pressure in the vessel is 150 kPa
whereas the temperature is 30

C. What is the molar ratio of nitrogen to oxygen in the

mixture?

2 2 2
N O N
n
150
n n
200

2 2
2
O N
N
n n
n

= 0.75
Thus, the molar ratio of N
2
to O
2
is 3:1.

10. A sample of pure ethanoic acid has a mass of 0.410 g and is heated in a glass tube of
volume 448 cm
3
. At 127C, the pressure in the tube is 25.33 kPa and the acid has all
completely vaporized. With the aid of the ideal gas equation, calculate the relative
molecular mass of ethanoic acid at 127

C.
M
r
=
mRT
pV
=
0.40 8.31 (127+273)
25.33 10
3
448 10
-6
= 120

11. As sea level, an inflated bicycle tyre contains 550 cm
3
of air at an internal pressure of 6
bar and a temperature of 20 C. The safety instructions given on the tyre state that the
tyre can withstand a maximum internal pressure of 8 bar. As sea level, atmospheric
pressure is 101 kPa. The tyre will burst if the difference between the internal pressure
and the external pressure becomes too great. [1 bar = 100 kPa]

(a) Calculate the no. of mol of air in the tyre at sea level.
(6 100 1000)(550 10
6
) = n(8.31)(273 + 20)
n = 0.136 mol

(b) A bicycle, with the same tyre inflated at sea level, is placed in the luggage hold
of an airplane. Typical values for the conditions in the hold at a height of 10 km
are a temperature of 5 C and a pressure of 0.28 bar. Assuming the volume of
the tyre does not change, calculate the pressure inside the tyre at the height of
10 km. Include units in your answer.
p(550 10
6
) = 0.136(8.31)(273 + 5)
p = 5.69 10
5
Pa or 5.69 bar

(c) Some airlines insist that bicycle tyres should be deflated before the flight while
others do not. Use the answers in (b) to justify if there is a need for the tyres to
be deflated before flight.
The maximum difference between internal and external pressure the tyre
can withstand = 800 101 = 699 kPa

In the luggage hold at a height of 10 km, difference between internal and
external pressure = 5.69 0.28 =5.41 bar = 541 kPa

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The difference in internal and external pressure at the height of 10 km is
smaller than the max difference. Thus the tyres will not burst even at the
height of 10 km. Thus, there is no need to deflate the tyres before flight.

12. Carbon dioxide is used as a coolant gas in some nuclear reactors. Unlike hydrogen or
helium, carbon dioxide shows marked deviations from the ideal gas behaviour that is
predicted by the kinetic theory of gases.

(a) State two assumptions of the kinetic theory, and use these to explain why you
might expect the ideal gas behaviour of carbon dioxide to be less than that of
hydrogen.
The two assumptions are:
1. The volume of the particles as compared to overall gas volume is
negligible,
2. The forces of attraction between the particles are negligible.

The ideal gas behaviour of CO
2
is less than that of H
2
.
This is because CO
2
more extensive van der waals forces than H
2
, hence
the attractive forces between CO
2
molecules is greater than that between
H
2
molecules.

Or, the CO
2
is a larger molecule than H
2
; hence volume occupied by CO
2

molecules is more significant as compared to its overall gas volume.

(b) Under what conditions of temperature and pressure would you expect the
behaviour of carbon dioxide to be most like that of an ideal gas?
CO
2
will behave most like an ideal gas under high temperature and low
pressure.

(c) The volume of 1 mol of carbon dioxide was measured at various pressures but
at a constant temperature of 285 K. The following results were obtained:

Pressure, p / Pa Volume, V / m
3
Pressure x volume, pV / m
3
Pa
4.0 x 10
5
5.80 x 10
-3
2320
8.0 x 10
5
2.85 x 10
-3
2280
15.0 x 10
5
1.46 x 10
-3
2190
20.0 x 10
5
1.07 x 10
-3
2140
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(i) Complete the calculations for the third column and use these data to
plot a graph of the product pV against p.

(ii) State how the value of the product pV should change with pressure for
an ideal gas.
For an ideal gas, the product pV will remain constant when the
pressure, p changes at a fixed temperature.

(iii) Use the graph to calculate the volume of 1 mol of carbon dioxide at a
pressure of 10 x 10
5
Pa. Calculate the volume at 285 K that the ideal
gas equation predicts for this pressure and comment on the difference
between the two values.
From the graph, when p = 10 10
5
Pa,
pV = 2256 m
3
Pa
V =
5
10 10
2256

= 2.26 10
-3
m
3


For ideal gas, pV = nRT

For n = 1 mol, T = 285 K, R = 8.31 J K
-1
mol
-1

V = nRT / p = (1)(8.31)(285) / 10 10
5
= 2.37 10
-3
m
3

The volume of CO
2
if it is an ideal gas is greater than its actual
volume. This is because the attractive forces between CO
2

molecules at the relatively low temperature of 285K, is not
negligible. Hence the molecules are attracted to one another,
resulting in the actual gas volume being smaller than when it is
ideal.

2100
2150
2200
2250
2300
2350
0 5 10 15 20 25
p
V

p ( 10
5
)
pV against p
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13. Van der Waals recognized that the ideal gas equation could be corrected to account
for the effects of attractive forces between gas molecules and for molecular volumes.
He introduced two constants, a and b, to make these corrections. The constant a, is a
measure of how strongly the gas molecules attract each other. The constant b, is a
measure of the small but finite volume occupied by the gas molecules themselves. His
description of gas behaviour is known as the van der Waals equation, given by

(p +

)(V nb) = nRT

(a) Compare with the ideal gas equation: pV = nRT, explain why the van der Waals
equation adjusts the pressure, p upward (by adding

), and the volume, V

downward (by subtracting nb).
In the equation, the factor

accounts for the attractive forces. The van

der Waals equation adjusts the pressure, p upward by adding

because
attractive forces between molecules tend to reduce the pressure.

a correction must be added to give the pressure that an ideal gas would
have.

(N.B. A gas molecule that is about to strike the wall of a container
experiences attractive forces from nearby gas molecules and its impact
on the wall is lessened. The lessened impact means the molecule exerts a
lower than expected pressure on the wall. The attractive forces become
significant only under high pressure conditions, when the average
distance between molecules is small.)

The factor nb accounts for the small but finite volume occupied by the
gas molecules themselves. The van der Waals equation adjusts volume, V
downward by subtracting nb to give the free volume available to the gas
molecules. So the particles of an ideal gas have the full volume, V as the
free space in which to move, whereas in a real gas only the volume V-nb
is available as free space.
a correction must be substracted to give the volume that an ideal gas
would have.

(N.B. At low p, the combined volume of the gas molecules is small relative
to the container volume so we can approximate the empty space between
molecules as being equal to the container volume. At high p, the
combined volume of the gas molecules is a larger fraction of the total
space available. So we have to account for the volume of the molecules
themselves in determining the empty space available for the motion of the
gas molecules.)

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(b) Calculate the pressure exerted by one mole of Cl
2
gas confined to 22.4 dm
3
at 0
o
C.

(i) using the ideal gas equation
p =

= 101278 Pa = 101 kPa

(ii) using the van der Waals equation (a = 4.254 m
3
Pa mol
-2
; b = 5.62 x 10
-5

m
3
mol
-1
).
(p +

)(V nb) = nRT

(p +

) =

P =

= 101532 8478 Pa
= 101.5 8.48 kPa = 93.1 kPa
(iii) Comment on the difference in your answers as far as you can.

Pressure of Cl
2
calculated from van der Waals equation (93.1 kPa)
is less than pressure calculated from the ideal gas equation (101
kPa). This is because Cl
2
is a real gas that deviates from ideal gas
behavior due to significant forces of attractions between the Cl
2

molecules.

Extension: Reasons behind the deviation from ideal gas values:
The first term,
nb V
nRT

(101.5 kPa) is the pressure corrected for the

finite size (volume) of the Cl
2
gas (molecular volume). The value is
higher than that of the ideal pressure, 101 kPa because the volume
in which the molecules are free to move is smaller than the
container volume of 22.4 dm
3
.
The molecules must collide more frequently with the container
walls [giving rise to higher pressure in reality].

The second term,
2
2
V
a n
(8.48 kPa) corrects for the attractive forces
between molecules. The intermolecular forces (IMFs) between
molecules reduce the pressure to 93.1 kPa.

Or you can simply state that:

We can conclude that the IMFs are the main cause of the slight
deviation of Cl
2
gas from ideal behaviour under the stated
experimental conditions.

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Assignment Questions
14. (a) Alfred Noble discovered that an explosive could be made from nitroglycerin (a
liquid which on its own readily detonates) mixed with a substance called
Keiselguhr (diatomaceous earth). The equation for the explosion is:

4C
3
H
5
N
3
O
9
(l N
2
(g) + 12CO
2
(g) + O
2
(g) + 10H
2
O(g)

This discovery contributed to his enormous wealth, part of which he used to
establish the Nobel Prizes.

(i) Given that the volume of gases produced at 500 C and 1 atm was 83.0
dm
3
. Calculate the mass of nitroglycerin that had decomposed.
(1.01 10
5
) (83 10
3
) = n(8.31)(500 + 273)
n =

= 1.305 mol of gases are present

4 nitroglycerin 29 gaseous product
Amt of nitroglycerin decomposed =

1.305 = 0.180 mol

mass of nitroglycerin = 0.180 (12 3 + 5 + 14 3 + 16 9)
= 40.9 g

(ii) Apart from the great amount of heat energy released, why would this
reaction caused extensive damage if it is carried out in an enclosed
area?
A high volume of gaseous product is formed; this may result in a
build-up of pressure in the room. The resultant high pressure, in
turn will lead to an explosion.

(b) Among the gaseous products formed at 500 C, Alfred Noble studies the
behaviour of these gases. State and explain which of these gaseous products
behave most ideally.
Nitrogen gas will behave the most ideally. N
2
(g) has the smallest M
r
and
electron cloud. Thus, its volume and intermolecular forces of attraction
(Van der Waals) are the most negligible. Note: Always consider IMF factor
first before considering size

(c) Alfred Noble continued to study the behaviour of the gases, namely nitrogen
and water vapour, by varying pressure. Predict the compressibility curves of the
N
2
and H
2
O produced from nitroglycerin and draw them in the space below.










NB: This is just to teach students the factors affecting deviation when comparing
between gases.

p (atm)
N
2

H
2
O
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Note: Does not matter whether or not the 2 lines intercept (for positive deviation)
Temperature deviation from ideal gas behaviour due to IMF
Pressure deviation from ideal gas behaviour due to finite size of individual gas
particles

15. Air entering the lungs ends up in tiny sacs called alveoli, from which oxygen diffuses
into the blood. The average radius of the alveoli is 0.0050 cm and the air inside
contains 14% of oxygen. Assuming that the pressure in the alveoli is 1.0 atm and the
temperature is 37 C, calculate the number of oxygen molecules in one of the alveoli.
[The volume of a sphere =
3
3
4
r ]
Vol. of 1 alveolus =

= 5.2 10
7
cm
3
= 5.2 10
13
m
3


No. of mol of air in 1 alveolus =

=
(

= 2.018 10
11
mol
Since only 14% of air contains oxygen,
No. of oxygen molecule in 1 alveolus = 2.018 10
11
14% 6.02 10
23

= 1.70 10
12