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7 Avogadro's Law
[Figure 1]
Avogadro’s Law
You have learned about Avogadro’s hypothesis: equal volumes of any gas at the same temperature and
pressure contain the same number of molecules. It follows that the volume of a gas is directly
proportional to the number of moles of gas present in the sample. Avogadro’s law states that the
volume of a gas is directly proportional to the number of moles of gas when the temperature and
pressure are held constant. The mathematical expression of Avogadro’s law is
where n is the number of moles of gas and k is a constant. Avogadro’s law is in evidence whenever you
blow up a balloon. The volume of the balloon increases as you add moles of gas to the balloon by
blowing it up. If the container holding the gas is rigid rather than flexible, pressure can be substituted for
volume in Avogadro’s law. Adding gas to a rigid container makes the pressure increase.
Since a relatively small amount of additional helium was added to the balloon, its volume increases
slightly.
Example #2: A cylinder with a movable piston contains 2.00 g of helium, He, at room temperature. More
helium was added to the cylinder and the volume was adjusted so that the gas pressure remained the
same. How many grams of helium were added to the cylinder if the volume was changed from 2.00 L to
2.70 L? (The temperature was held constant.)
Solution:
x = 0.675 mol
Example #3: A container with a volume of 25.47 L holds 1.050 mol of oxygen gas (O2) whose molar mass
is 31.9988 g/mol. What is the volume if 7.210 g of oxygen gas is removed from the container, assuming
the pressure and temperature remain constant?
Solution #1:
V2 = 20.00 L
Summary
Calculations are shown for relationships between volume and number of moles of gas.
Review:
[Figure 1]
The combined gas law shows that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to volume and directly
proportional to temperature. Avogadro’s law shows that volume or pressure is directly proportional to
the number of moles of gas. Putting these together leaves us with the following equation:
The variable R in the equation is called the ideal gas constant.
Sample problem #2: Determine the volume of occupied by 2.34 grams of carbon dioxide gas at STP.
Solution:
2) Substitute:
V = [(2.34 g / 44.0 g mol¯1) (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (273.0 K)] / 1.00 atm
Sample problem #3:A sample of argon gas at STP occupies 56.2 liters. Determine the number of moles of
argon and the mass of argon in the sample.
Solution:
2) Substitute: n = [(1.00 atm) (56.2 L) ] / [ (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (273.0 K)]
2.50866 mol times 39.948 g/mol = 100. g (to three sig figs)
Problem #4: At what temperature will 0.654 moles of neon gas occupy 12.30 liters at 1.95 atmospheres?
Solution:
2) Substitute:
T = [(1.95 atm) (12.30 L)] / [(0.654 mol) (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1)]
T = 447 K
Problem #5: A 40.0 g gas sample occupies 11.2 L at STP. Find the molecular weight of this gas.
Solution:
11.2 L at STP is one-half molar volume, so there is 0.500 mol of gas present. Therefore, the molecular
weight is 80.0 g mol¯1
Problem #6: A 12.0 g sample of gas occupies 19.2 L at STP. What is the molecular weight of this gas?
Solution:This problem, as well as the two just above can be solved with PV = nRT. You would solve for n,
the number of moles. Then you would divide the grams given by the mole calculated.
x = 14.0 g/mol
Warning: you can only use molar volume when you are at STP.
Problem #7: 96.0 g. of a gas occupies 48.0 L at 700.0 mm Hg and 20.0 °C. What is its molecular weight?
Solution:
n = [(700.0 mmHg / 760.0 mmHg atm¯1) (48.0 L)] / [(0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (293.0 K)]
n = 1.8388 mol
2) Divide the grams given (96.0) by the moles just calculated above:
Summary
Review
2. You are doing a calculation where the pressure is given in mm Hg. You select 8.314 J/K • mol as your
value for R. Will you get a correct answer?
3. How would you check that you have chosen the correct value of R for your problem?
4. How many moles of gas does it take to occupy 120 liters at a pressure of 2.3 atmospheres and a
temperature of 340 K?
5) If I have a 50 liter container that holds 45 moles of gas at a temperature of 2000 C, what is the
pressure inside the container?
6) How many moles of gas are in a 30 liter scuba canister if the temperature of the canister is 300 K and
the pressure is 200 atmospheres