Gaseous state

Ideal gas law:

pV = nRT

p: pressure in Pa; V: volume in m3; n: molar amount in mole, R: gas constant (8.314 J/molK);
T: temperature in K.

Daltons law for gas mixtures:

ptotal = p1 + p2 + p3 + + pi

ptotal : total pressure of a gas mixture; pi : partial pressure of a component in any pressure unit
Standard conditions: 298.15 K (25 C), 101 kPa, molar volume: 24.5 dm3
Normal conditions: 273.15 K (0 C), 101 kPa, molar volume: 22.41 dm3
STP: standard temperature and pressure
1 atm = 760 mm Hg = 101325 Pa

t (C) + 273.15 = T (K)

Relative density (drel):

relative density of substance A related to substance B means: drel = dA/dB = MA/MB
(d: density, M: molar mass)

For molar masses: see page 198. of your Laboratory manual.

The following calculation exercices are from the book Chemistry (by McMurry and Fay, 4th
edition), Chapter 9. Gases.

Exercices:
Which sample contains more molecules: 1.00 L of O2 at STP, 1.00 L of air at STP, or 1.00 L
of H2 at STP?
Which sample contains more molecules: 2.50 L of air at 50 C and 750 mm Hg pressure or
2.16 L of CO2 at -10 C and 765 mm Hg pressure?
How many moles of air are in the lungs of an average adult with a lung capacity of 3.8 L,
Assume that the person is at 1.00 atm pressure and has a normal body temperature of 37 C.
(0.15 mol)

Which sample contains more molecules, 15.0 L of steam (gaseous H2O) at 123.0 C and 0.93
atm pressure or a 10.5 g ice cube at -5 C?

Imagine that you have two identical flasks, one containing hydrogen at STP and the other
containing oxygen at STP. How can you tell which is which without opening them?

One mole of any gas has a volume of 22.41 L under normal conditions. What are the densities
of the following gases under normal conditions?
a.) CH4

b.) CO2

c.) O2

(0.714; 1.96; 1.43; 15.7 g/l)

d.) UF6

What is the density (in grams per liter) of a gas mixture that contains 27.0% F2 and 73.0% He
by volume at 714 mm Hg and 27.5 C?

What are the molecular masses of the gases with the following densities:
a.) 1.342 g/L under normal conditions?
b.) 1.053 g/L at 25 C and 752 mm Hg?

In a typical automobile engine, the mixture of gasoline and air in a cylinder is compressed
from 1.0 atm to 9.5 atm. If the uncompressed volume of the cylinder is 410 mL, what is the
volume when the mixture is fully compressed?

(43 ml)

An aerosol spray can with a volume of 350 mL contains 3.2 g of propane gas (C3H8) as a
propellant. What is the pressure (in atmospheres) of gas in the can at 20 C.

(5 atm)

A helium gas cylinder of the sort used to fill balloons has a volume of 43.8 L and a presssure
of 1.51 104 kPa at 25 C. How many moles of helium are in the tank?

(267 mol)

To identify the contents of an unlabeled cylinder of gas, a sample was collected and found to
have a density of 5.380 g/L at 15 C and 736 mm Hg pressure. What is the molar mass of the
gas?

(131 g/mol Xe)

Carbonate-bearing rocks like limestone react with dilute acids such as HCl to produce carbon
dioxide. How many grams of CO2 were formed by complete reaction of 33.7 g of limestone?
What is the volume in liters of this CO2 at STP?

(14.8 g; 8.256 l)

A foul-smelling gas produced by the reaction of HCl with Na2S was collected, and a 1.00 L
sample was found to have a mass of 1.52 g at STP. What is the molecular mass of the gas?
What is its likely formula and name?

(34 g/mol; H2S)

Pure oxygen gas was first prepared by heating mercury(II) oxide, HgO:
2 HgO (s) 2 Hg (l) + O2 (g)
What volume of oxygen at STP is released by heating 10.57 g of HgO?

(0,598 l)

Hydrogen gas can be prepared by reaction of zinc metal with aqueous HCl.
a.) How many liters of H2 would be formed at 742 mm Hg at 15 C if 25.5 g of zinc was
allowed to react?
b.) How many grams of zinc would you start with if you wanted to prepare 5.00 L of H2 at
350 mm Hg and 30.0 C?

Ammonium nitrate can decompose explosively when heated according to the equation
2 NH4NO3 (s) 2 N2 (g) + 4 H2O (g) + O2 (g)
How many liters of gas would be formed at 450 C and 1.00 atm pressure by explosion of 450
g of NH4NO3?
At an underwater depth of 75 m, the pressure is 8.38 atm. What should the mole percent of
oxygen is the diving gas be for the partial pressure of oxygen in the gas to be 0.21 atm, the
same as it is in air at 1.0 atm?

(2,5%)

What is the mole fraction of each component in a mixture of 12.45 g of H2, 60.67 g of N2, and
2.38 g of NH3?

(0.7281; 0.2554; 0.0165)

On a humid day in summer, the mole fraction of gaseous H2O (water vapor) in the air at 25 C
can be as high as 0.0287. Assuming a total pressure of 0.977 atm, what is the partial pressure
of H2O in the air?

(0.028 atm)

For ether, a partial pressure of 15 mm Hg results in anesthesia in 50% of patients. What is the
MAC* (minimum alveolar concentration) for ether?
*MAC (minimum alveolar concentration): the percent concentration of anesthetic in inhaled
air results in anesthesia in 50% of patients.

Chloroform has an MAC of 0.77%. What partial pressure of chloroform is required to

anesthize 50% of patients? What mass of chloroform in 10.0 L of air at STP will produce the
appropriate MAC?

What is the average molecular mass of a diving-gas mixture that contains 2.0% by volume O2
and 98.0% by volume He?

A compressed air tank carried by scuba divers has a volume of 8.0 L and a pressure of 140
atm at 25 C. What is the volume of air in the tank at STP?

Assuming that air is breathed at an average rate of 4.50 L/min at 25 C and 735 mm Hg, and
the concentration of CO2 in expelled air is 3.4% by volume, how many grams of CO2 are
produced in 24 hours?

If 20.0 g of N2 gas has a volume of 0.40 L and a pressure of 6.0 atm, what is its Kelvin
temperature?

Many laboratory gases are sold in steel cylinders with a volume of 43.8 L. What mass of
argon is inside a cylinder whose pressure is 17.180 kPa at 20 C? (12.3 kg)

What is the total mass of oxygen in a room measuring by 4.0 m by 5.0 m by 2.5 m? Assume
that the gas is at STP and that air contains 20.95% oxygen by volume.

(1.36104 g)

The average oxygen content of arterial blood is approximately 0.25 g of O2 per liter.
Assuming the body temperature of 37 C, how many moles of oxygen are transported by each
liter of arterial blood? How many millliters?

Natural gas is a mixture of many substances, primarily CH4, C2H6, C3H8, and C4H10.
Assuming that the total pressure of the gases is 1.48atm and that their mole ratio is 94 : 4.0 :
1.5 : 0.50 calculate the partial pressure of each gas.

A special gas mixture usen in bacterial growth chambers cantains 1.00% by weight CO2 and
99.0% O2. What is the partial pressure of each gas at a total pressure of 0.977 atm?
(pO2=0,97 atm; pCO2=0,00711 atm)

Dry ice (solid CO2) has occasionally been used as an explosive in mining. A hole is drilled,
dry ice and a small amount of gunpowder are placed in the hole, a fuse is added, and the hole
is plugged. When lit, the exploding gunpowder rapidly vaporizes the dry ice, building up an
immense pressure. Assume that 500.0 g of dry ice is placed in a cavity with a volume of 0.800
L and the ignited gunpowder heats the CO2 to 700 K. What is the final pressure inside the
hole?