EXPERIMENT 7 GAS LAWAPPLICATION

INTRODUCTION This experiment involves making relatively simple measurements that provide data for calculations using the ideal gas law to determine the molar mass of a gas. The principle objective is to help to understand and practice these calculations so that calculations involving amounts of gases can be used to describe gases as well as use their amounts in stoichiometry. The ideal gas law has several forms. The principle form is PV=nRT where P is pressure, V is volume, n is the number of moles of gas, R is a constant and T is the absolute temperature. When the units of pressure, volume and temperature are atmospheres, liters and Kelvins respectively, the value of R is 0.0821 L-atm/mol-K. Since our objective is to find the molar mass, we need to separately determine the mass and number of moles in a sample. We will obtain the mass by weighing and the number of moles will be found indirectly: by finding the pressure, volume, and temperature of the gas sample and solving the gas law for n. The sample gas will be the natural gas used as the fuel for burners in the lab. We will refer to it as "lab gas" for short. You will determine its molar mass and density. The pre- lab questions provide additional practice exercises in the use of the ideal gas law.

MATERIALS AND SAFETY No special hazards are involved in this exercise. Nevertheless, the use of safety goggles is required due to the presence of other potentially hazardous materials in the lab area. Take care with the thermometers to avoid placing them where they might roll off a bench top or otherwise be vulnerable.

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PROCEDURE Take a clean, dry 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask from your drawer to serve as the gas container. Obtain a thermometer and a rubber stopper (#6 size for most of these flasks) from the equipment cart or other source identified by your instructor. Place the stopper in the mouth of the flask, effectively enclosing a volume of air inside. Weigh the flask, air and stopper together on an electronic balance and record the mass to the nearest 0.001 g in the data section of the report. Record the air temperature in the room. We will assume the air is at the same temperature. Next, go to the hood area of the lab. There will be a set of hoses attached to the burner gas lines with pinch clamps to control the flow of gas. The hoses will be attached to glass tubes passing through rubber stoppers. Insert one of these tubes into your flask loosely and release the pinch clamp so that gas can flow into your flask and flush out the air. You need to keep the stopper loose in the flask so that air can escape. It is preferable to hold the flask upside down for this operation. After about two minutes of replacing air with lab gas, take out the filling tube and quickly replace it with the original solid rubber stopper. Then replaced the pinch clamp to stop the gas flow. Record the air temperature in the hood work area. We will assume that the lab gas temperature is the same. Weigh the flask with gas and stopper on the electronic balance and record the result. The mass should be less than when the flask was weighed with air inside. If not, repeat the gas filling and weigh again. To find the volume of the air and lab gas samples, fill the flask to the top with tap water then insert the stopper so that excess water is pushed out and no significant amount of air is trapped under the stopper. Dry off the overflowing water. Next, pour all of the contained water from the flask into an empty graduated cylinder and measure the total volume. The pressure of the air and lab gas samples will be assumed to be the same as the room air pressure. This can be found with the lab's barometer, hanging near the stockroom window in the 103 room. The barometer has a centimeter scale on the outside. Read position of the indicator against this scale and multiply by ten to obtain the pressure in millimeters of mercury. Record the adjusted value. Return the stopper and thermometer to the cart. 7-2

CALCULATION NOTES We intend to find the mass of the lab gas by subtracting the mass of the empty flask and stopper from the mass of the flask, stopper and lab gas. However, since the first weighing of the flask included a mass of air, we need to estimate the mass of this air and subtract it. If we assume that the air is dry (does not contain water vapor), we can use the chart below to find its density. Use the closest temperature row and pressure column to find the value. With this density and the volume of the flask, you can calculate the mass of the air that occupied the flask. While solving the ideal gas law for the number of moles of gas present in your sample, it is important to be certain that the units of pressure, volume, and temperature are consistent with the values of R used. The calculations section of the report will prompt you to convert to appropriate units. DENSITY OF DRY AIR (in grams per liter) Pressure in mmHg Temp in 720 730 740 750 760 770 1.161 1.177 1.193 1.210 1.226 1.242 1.157 1.173 1.189 1.205 1.221 1.238 1.153 1.169 1.185 1.201 1.217

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1.233 18 1.149 1.165 1.181 1.197 1.213 1.229 1.145 1.161 1.177 1.193 1.209 1.225 1.141 1.157 1.173 1.189 1.205 1.221 1.137 1.153 1.169 1.185 1.201 1.216 1.134 1.149 1.165 1.181 1.197 1.212 1.130 1.145 1.161 1.177 1.193 1.208 1.126 1.142 1.157 1.173 1.189

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1.204 25 1.122 1.138 1.153 1.169 1.185 1.200 7-3

REPORT: GAS LAW

Name ____________________ Section ________

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BEFORE THE LAB EXERCISE 1. Find the mass, in grams, of a 240 mL sample of dry air at a pressure of 750 mmHg and a temperature of 19C. Refer to the chart on the previous page for dry air density.

2. An unknown gas sample is collected in a 255 mL container at 25C and 755 mmHg. How many moles of gas are present?

3. If the gas sample of question 2 was weighed and found to have a mass of 0.456 grams, what is the molar mass of the gas?

4. What was the density in grams per liter of the gas of question 2?

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REPORT: GAS LAW

Name ____________________ Section ________

DATA a) Mass of the flask, stopper, and air b) Temperature in the room. c) Mass of the flask, stopper, and lab gas d) Temperature in the hood. e) Volume of the flask measured by the cylinder f) Room pressure in mmHg g) Density of dry air from the chart CALCULATIONS h) Mass of the air in the flask ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

i) Mass of the flask and stopper without air

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j) Mass of the lab gas sample

________________

k) Density of the lab gas in grams per liter

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REPORT: GAS LAW

7-5 Name ____________________ Section ________

l) Room pressure in atmospheres

________________

m) Volume of the flask in liters

________________

n) Temperature of the lab gas in Kelvins

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o) Number of moles of lab gas from the ideal gas law

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p) Molar mass of the lab gas

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QUESTION What would be the density of lab gas at STP (0C and 1 atm)?

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