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Ideal Gas Law

Problem #1: Determine the volume of occupied by 2.34 grams of carbon dioxide gas
at STP.

Solution:

1) Rearrange PV = nRT to this:

V = nRT / P

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

V = 1.19 L (to three significant figures)

Problem #2: 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:

1) Rearrange PV = nRT to this:

n = PV / RT

2) Substitute:

n = [(1.00 atm) (56.2 L) ] / [ (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (273.0 K)]

n = 2.50866 mol (I'll keep a few guard digits)

3) Multiply the moles by the atomic weight of Ar to get the grams:

2.50866 mol times 39.948 g/mol = 100. g (to three sig figs)

Problem #3: At what temperature will 0.654 moles of neon gas occupy 12.30 liters at
1.95 atmospheres?

Solution:
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1) Rearrange PV = nRT to this:

T = PV / nR

2) Substitute:

T = [(1.95 atm) (12.30 L)] / [(0.654 mol) (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1)]

T = 447 K

Problem #4: A 30.6 g sample of gas occupies 22.414 L at STP. What is the molecular
weight of this gas?

Solution:

Since one mole of gas occupies 22.414 L at STP, the molecular weight of the gas is
30.6 g mol¯1

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.

1) Use PV = nRT:

(1.00 atm) (19.2 L) = (n) (0.08206) (273 K)

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n = 0.8570518 mol (I'll keep a few guard digits)

2) Determine the molecular weight:

12.0 g / 0.8570518 mol = 14.0 g/mol

3) Since it is at STP, we can also use molar volume:

(19.2 L / 12.0 g) = (22.414 L / x )

19.2x = 268.968

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:

1) Solve for the moles using PV = nRT:

n = PV / RT

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:

96.0 g / 1.8388 mol = 52.2 g/mol

Problem #8: 20.83 g of a gas occupies 4.167 L at 79.97 kPa at 30.0 °C. What is its
molecular weight?

Solution:

1) Solve for the moles using PV = nRT:

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n = PV / RT

n = [(79.97 kPa / 101.325 kPa atm¯1) (4.167 L)] / [(0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (303.0
K)]

n = 0.13227 mol

2) Divide the grams given (20.83) by the moles just calculated above:

20.83 g / 0.13227 mol = 157.5 g/mol

Notice that, in the two problems just above, the I converted the pressure unit given in
the problem to atmospheres. I did this to use the value for R that I have memorized.
There are many different ways to express R, it's just that L-atm/mol-K is the unit I
prefer to use, whenever possible.

Also, you cannot use molar volume since the two problems just above are not at STP.

Problem #9a: What is the value of and units on R? What is R called ("A letter" is not
the correct answer!)?

R is called the gas constant. It was first discovered, as part of the discovery in the
mid-1830's by Emil Clapeyron of what is now called the Ideal Gas Law.

Sometimes it is called the universal constant because it shows up in many non-gas-

related situations. However, it is mostly called the gas constant or, sometimes, the
universal gas constant.

Depending on the units selected, the "value" for R can take on many different
forms. Here is a list. Keep in mind these different "values" represent the same thing.

Problem #9b: What is often called the Ideal Gas Constant is 0.0820574 L atm
mol¯1 K¯1. What is often called the Universal Gas Constant is 8.31451 J mol¯1 K¯1.
Convert the Ideal Gas Constant into the Universal Gas Constant and vice versa.

Solution:

1) To find the conversions, divide one by the other:

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8.31451 J mol¯1 K¯1 / 0.0820574 L atm mol¯1 K¯1 = 101.3255 J L¯1 atm¯1

This means that 1 L atm = 101.3255 J

2) The other division:

0.0820574/8.31451 = 0.00986918 (try putting the units in as was done just above)

This means that 1 J = 0.00986918 L atm

You could have also done this:

1 / 101.3255 = 0.00986918

3) Here are the conversions:

(0.0820574 atm L/mol K) (101.3255 J/L atm) = 8.31451 J/mol K

and

(8.31451 J/mol K) (0.00986918 L atm / J) = 0.0820574 L atm / mol K

Problem #10: 5.600 g of solid CO2 is put in an empty sealed 4.00 L container at a
temperature of 300 K. When all the solid CO2 becomes gas, what will be the pressure
in the container?

Solution:

1) Determine moles of CO2:

5.600 g / 44.009 g/mol = 0.1272467 mol

2) Use PV = nRT

(P) (4.00 L) = (0.1272467 mol) (0.08206 L atm mol¯1 K¯1) (300 K)

P = 0.7831 atm (to four sig figs)

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Bonus Problem #1: 2.035 g H2 produces a pressure of 1.015 atm in a 5.00 L

container at -211.76 °C. What will the temperature (in °C) have to be if an additional
2.099 g H2 are added to the container and the pressure increases to 3.015 atm.

Solution:

1) What gas law should be used to solve this problem?

Notice that we have pressure, volume and temperature explicitly mentioned. In

addition, mass and molecular weight will give us moles. It appears that the ideal gas
law is called for.

However, there is a problem. We are being asked to change the conditions to a new
amount of moles and pressure. So, it seems like the ideal gas law needs to be used
twice.

2) Let's set up two ideal gas law equations:

P1V1 = n1RT1

This equation will use the 2.035 g amount of H2 as well as the 1.015 atm, 5.00 L, and
the -211.76 °C (converted to Kelvin, which I will do in a moment).

P2V2 = n2RT2

This second equation will use the data in the second sentence and T2 will be the
unknown.

What I need to do is set the two equations equal to each other. First, I rearrange a bit.

3) Like this:

P1V1 = n1RT1 leads to:

P1V1
R = –––––
n1T1

and

P2V2 = n2RT2 leads to:

P2V2
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R = –––––
n2T2

4) I will use the fact that R is the same value in each equation:

R = R, therefore:
P1V1 P2V2
––––– = –––––
n1T1 n2T2

5) I'm going to isolate T2 on one side of the equals sign:

Since the volume never changes, we can eliminate it from the equation:
P1 P2
––––– = –––––
n1T1 n2T2

Now, cross-multiply:

P1n2T2 = P2n1T1

Isolate T2:

P2n1T1
T2 = –––––
P1n2

Another way to write it is this:

T2 = P2n1T1 / P1n2

6) One more comment: it's about the moles:

Each of the mole amounts would be arrived at by dividing the grams by the molar
mass (in this case, H2). However, notice the molar masses will cancel, being the same
numerical value and one in the nominator and one in the denominator.

After cancelling, this is what we wind up with:

P2mass1T1
T2 = –––––––––
P1mass2
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7) We are now ready to solve:

(3.015 atm) (2.035 g) (61.24 K)

T2 = –––––––––––––––––––––––––
(1.015 atm) (4.134 g)

T2 = 89.546867 K

8) Convert Kelvin to Celsius:

°C = 89.546867 K − 273.15 (I decided to use 273.15 rather than 273.)

Using four sig figs gives −183.6 °C for the final answer

Bonus Problem #2: 1.00 mole of gas occupies 22.414 L at STP. Calculate the
temperature and pressure conditions needed to fit 2.00 moles of a gas into a volume of
22.414 L.

Solution:

1) Notice that the problem asks for two conditions: one of temperature and one of
pressure. The answer we arrive at will not be a value of T and one of P, but a ratio
between the two. Start here:

PV = nRT

2) Insert our known values:

(P) (22.414 L) = (2.00 mol) (0.08206 L atm / mol K) (T)

3) Since the question mentions T first, let's determine a T/P ratio:

T/P = 22.414 L / [(2.00 mol) (0.08206 L atm / mol K)]

T/P = 136.57 K/atm

Any T/P combination that gives 136.57 will be an answer.

4) If you wanted a P/T ratio, it would be 0.007322.

Dalton’s law
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This law was discovered by John Dalton in 1801.

For any pure gas (let's use helium), PV = nRT holds true. Therefore, P is directly
proportional to n if V and T remain constant. As n goes up, so would P. Or the
reverse.

Suppose you were to double the moles of helium gas present. What would happen?

Answer: the gas pressure doubles.

However, suppose the new quantity of gas added was a DIFFERENT gas. Suppose
that, instead of helium, you added neon.

What would happen to the pressure?

Answer: the pressure doubles, same as before.

Dalton's Law immediately follows from this example since each gas is causing 50%
of the pressure. Summing their two pressures gives the total pressure.

Written as an equation, it looks like this:

PHe + PNe = Ptotal

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures: each gas in a mixture creates pressure as if the other
gases were not present. The total pressure is the sum of the pressures created by the
gases in the mixture.

Ptotal = P1 + P2 + P3 + .... + Pn

Where n is the total number of gases in the mixture.

The only necessity is that the two gases do not interact in some chemical fashion, such
as reacting with each other.

The pressure each gas exerts in mixture is called its partial pressure.

The most common use of Dalton's Law seen in high school is with water vapor.

A common method of collecting gas during an experiment is by trapping it "over

water." An inverted bottle filled with water sits in a water bath. A tube from the
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reaction vessel conducts the gas into the bottle where it bubbles to the top and
displaces water, which runs out the mouth of the bottle into the water bath.

However, there is an unavoidable problem. The gas saturates with water vapor and
now the total pressure inside the bottle is the sum of two pressures - the gas itself and
the added water vapor.

WE DO NOT WANT THE WATER VAPOR PRESSURE.

So we get rid of it by subtraction.

This means we must get the water vapor pressure from somewhere.

We get it from a table because the water vapor pressure depends only on the
temperature, NOT how big the container is or the pressure of the other gas. Usually
the textbook will have an abbreviated table with more complete tables in reference
manuals like "The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics."

Here is an example: 0.750 L of a gas is collected over water at 23.0°C with a total
pressure of 99.75 kPa. What is the pressure of the dry gas? Look up the vapor pressure
data here.

For the solution, we look up the vapor pressure and find it to be 2.8104.

We then perform a subtraction:

99.75 kPa − 2.8104 kPa = 96.9396 kPa

We then round off to four significant figures for the final answer:

96.94 kPa

Another common concept that crops up in a Dalton's Law context is mole fraction.

Suppose you had equal moles of two different gases in a mixture. Then the mole
fraction for each would be 0.50.

The mole fraction for each gas is simply the moles of that gas divided by the total
moles in the mixture.

Seems simple enough. How does it relate to Dalton's Law?

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Answer: the mole fraction also gives the fraction of the total pressue each gas
contributes. So if the mole fraction for a gas was 0.50, then it would contribute 50%
of the total pressure. If the mole fraction of a gas was 0.15, then its partial pressure
would be 0.15 times the total pressure.

The reverse is also true. If you divided the partial pressure of a gas by the total
pressure, you would get the mole fraction for that gas. (I hope you know enough by
now that the two pressures would have to be in the same units!)

By the way, mole fractions are unitless numbers. The mole (or pressure) units cancel
out.

Example #1: A container holds three gases: oxygen, carbon dioxide, and helium. The
partial pressures of the three gases are 2.00 atm, 3.00 atm, and 4.00 atm, respectively.
What is the total pressure inside the container?

Solution:

1) Using symbols, I write Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures:

Ptot = PO2 + PCO2 + PHe

2) The sum of all the partial pressures in the container gives us the total pressure:

Ptot = 2.00 atm + 3.00 atm + 4.00 atm = 9.00 atm

Example #2: The partial pressure of F2 in a mixture of gases where the total pressure
is 1.00 atm is 300. torr. What is the mole fraction of F2?

Solution:

Let us use 760. torr for 1.00 atm

300. torr / 760. torr = 0.395

Example #3: 80.0 liters of oxygen is collected over water at 50.0 °C. The atmospheric
pressure in the room is 96.00 kPa. What is the partial pressure of the oxygen?
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Solution:

Ptot = PO2 + PH2O

96.00 kPa = PO2 + 12.344 kPa

PO2 = 83.66 kPa

Example #4: If 60.0 L of nitrogen is collected over water at 40.0 °C when the
atmospheric pressure is 760.0 mm Hg, what is the partial pressure of the nitrogen?

Solution:

1) First, a statement of Dalton's Law:

Ptot = PN2 + PH2O

2) Next is a little bit of work on PH2O:

We have to look up the vapor pressure of water at 40.0 °C. We do so and find it to be
7.3814 kPa. For the purposes of this problem, we need the value in mmHg:

(7.3814 kPa) (760.0 mmHg / 101.325 kPa) = 55.4 mmHg

By the way, I consulted a list that gave the values in kPa. There are many vapor
pressure of water data sets available on the Internet and many of them include mmHg
values. Here is an example of one.

3) Determine the partial pressure of the nitrogen:

760.0 atm = PN2 + 55.4 mmHg

PN2 = 704.6 mmHg

4) Note that the problem says 'atmospheric pressure.' However, is the total pressure
inside the container truly equal to the pressure outside the container? We must assume
yes, because assuming no means the problem cannot be solved. And the intent of the
writer is to give a problem that can be solved, not one that cannot be solved.
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Example #5: A mixture of 2 moles of H2, 3 moles of NH3, 4 moles of CO2, and 5
moles of N2 exert a total pressure of 800. torr. What is the partial pressure of each
gas?

Solution:

1) Determine the total number of moles of gas:

2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 14 mol

2) Determine the partial pressure of each gas:

H2 ---> (800. torr) (2/14) = 114 torr

NH3 ---> (800. torr) (3/14) = 171 torr
CO2 ---> (800. torr) (4/14) = 228 torr
N2 ---> (800. torr) (5/14) = 286 torr

3) Comment:

Note that 114 + 171 + 228 + 286 equals 799, so we have a bit of error due to
rounding. The usual solution is to determine the last value by subtraction rather than
by direct calculation.

Example #6: If you place 3.00 mol of N2 and 4.00 mol of O2 in a 35.0 L container at
25.0 °C, what will the pressure of the resulting mixture of gases be?

Solution:

1) The total pressure in the container is the sum of the partial pressures of the gases
(Dalton's Law):

3.00 mol + 4.00 mol = 7.00 mol

2) The Ideal Gas Law is used to calculate the total pressure:

PV = nRT

(P) (35.0 L) = (7.00 mol) (0.08206 L atm / mol K) (273 K)

P = 4.48 atm
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Example #7: A gas mixture contains hydrogn, helium, neon and argon. The total
pressure of the mixture is 93.6 kPa. The partial pressures of helium, neon and argon
are 15.4 kPa, 25.7 kPa, and 35.6 kPa, respectively. What is the pressure extended by
the hydrogen?

Solution:

Use Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures:

93.6 − (15.4 + 25.7 + 35.6) = 16.9 kPa

Example #8: A mixture of 14.0 grams of hydrogen, 84.0 grams of nitrogen, and 2.00
moles of oxygen are placed in a flask. When the partial pressure of the oxygen is
78.00 mm of mercury, what is the total pressure in the flask?

Solution:

1) Determine the moles of each gas:

nitrogen ---> 84.0 g / 28.014 g/mol = 2.9985 mol

hydrogen ---> 14.0 g / 1.008 g/mol = 13.8889 mol
oxygen ---> 2.00 mol

2) Add up the moles for the total number of moles:

2.9985 mol + 13.8889 mol + 2.00 mol = 18.8874 mol

3) Divide each mole amount by the total moles to obtain the mole fraction for each
gas:

nitrogen ---> 2.9985 mol / 18.8874 mol = 0.15876

hydrogen ---> 13.8889 mol / 18.8874 mol = 0.735353
oxygen ---> 2.00 mol / 18.8874 mol = 0.10589

Notice this:

0.15876 + 0.735353 + 0.10589 = 1.000003

It should, of course, equal 1. The fact that it is not is due, of course, to rounding. In
many case, the value is slightly below 1, say something like 0.999997.
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The manner for dealing with this is to use subtraction to obtain the final value, as
opposed to doing the division. I'll use subtraction in the next example.

Note: I could have also just rounded off the hydrogen value to 0.73535.

4) We will use the oxygen information in two ratio and proportions to determine the
partial pressures of nitrogen and hydrogen.

Nitrogen:

0.10589 0.15876
––––––––––– = –––––––
78.00 mmHg x

x = 116.94 mmHg

Hydrogen:

0.10589 0.735353
––––––––––– = ––––––––
78.00 mmHg x

x = 541.67 mmHg

5) The total pressure is arrived at by adding the partial pressures:

541.67 + 116.94 + 78.00 = 736.61 mmHg

Example #9: A mixture of gases contains 2.14 g of N2, 5.85 g of H2, and 4.18 g of
NH3. If the total pressure of the mixture is 4.58 atm, what is the partial pressure of
each component?

Solution:

1) Determine the moles of each gas:

nitrogen ---> 2.14 g / 28.014 g/mol = 0.07639 mol

hydrogen ---> 5.85 g / 1.008 g/mol = 5.80357 mol
ammonia ---> 4.18 g / 17.031 g/mol = 0.245435 mol

2) Add up the moles for the total number of moles:

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0.07639 mol + 5.80357 mol + 0.245435 mol = 6.125435 mol

3) Divide each mole amount by the total moles:

nitrogen ---> 0.07639 mol / 6.125435 mol = 0.01248

hydrogen ---> 5.80357 mol / 6.125435 mol = 0.94745
ammonia ---> 0.245435 mol / 6.125435 mol = 0.04007

This determines the mole fraction of each gas. Also, I actually obtained the nitrogen
mole fraction by subtraction. Like this:

1 - [0.94745 + 0.04007] = 0.01248

4) Multiply the mole fraction of each gas times the total pressure. Each answer is the
partial pressure of the gas.

nitrogen ---> 4.58 atm - [4.34 + 0.184] = 0.056 atm <--- note 'by subtraction'
technique
hydrogen ---> (4.58 atm) (0.94745) = 4.34 atm
ammonia ---> (4.58 atm) (0.04007) = 0.184 atm

Example #10: A flask contains 2.00 moles of nitrogen and 2.00 moles of helium.
How many grams of argon must be pumped into the flask in order to make the partial
pressure of argon twice that of helium?

Solution:

Consider only the helium. The argon needs to be double the moles of He in order to
have double the mole fraction. This is because the mole fraction of each gas is
proportional to the partial pressure of the gas.

Therefore, 4.00 moles of argon are required. 4.00 mol times 40.0 g/mol yields 160. g
for the answer.

Notice the mole fractions after the addition of 4.00 mol:

N2 ---> 2/8 = 0.25

He ---> 2/8 = 0.25
Ar ---> 4/8 = 0.50
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Bonus Example: A container with two gases, helium and argon, is 30.0% by volume
helium. Calculate the partial pressure of helium and argon if the total pressure inside
the container is 4.00 atm.

Solution:

The temperature and pressure remain constant, therefore Avogadro's Hypothesis

applies:

two samples of gas of equal volume, at the same temperature and pressure, contain the
same number of molecules.

What this means is that helium, with 30.0% of the volume, also has 30% of the
molecules. This means that helium's mole fraction is 0.300. Consequently:

(4.00 atm) (0.300) = 1.20 atm

is the partial pressure of helium.

The partial pressure of argon is obtained by subtraction:

4.00 atm − 1.20 atm = 2.80 atm