Day 3: Combined and Ideal Gas Law
Combined Gas Law
The Combined Gas Law derives from the relationship between pressure (P), volume (V), and temperature (T) of a gas, keeping the amount of gas constant.
Defined by the equation:
Variables Explained:
P = Pressure (in mmHg)
V = Volume (in mL)
T = Temperature (in Kelvin)
Subscripts:
1 indicates initial conditions
2 indicates final conditions
Example Problem Using Combined Gas Law
Given:
Initial volume (V1) = 1.58 mL
Initial pressure (P1) = 735 mmHg
Initial temperature (T1) = 34 °C (Convert to Kelvin: T1 = 307 K)
Final volume (V2) = 1.08 mL
Final temperature (T2) = 85 °C (Convert to Kelvin: T2 = 358 K)
Final pressure (P2) is unknown.
With known values, the equation setup becomes:
Calculation Steps:
Cross multiply to isolate P2:
Estimate the resulting final pressure, which will be greater than the initial pressure due to compression and temperature rise.
After calculation, it yields:
Ideal Gas Law
The Ideal Gas Law combines the principles of earlier gas laws into one equation:
Variables Explained:
P = Pressure (in atm)
V = Volume (in L)
n = Number of moles of gas
R = Ideal gas constant = 0.0821 L atm/(mol K)
T = Temperature (in Kelvin)
Unit Consideration:
Volume must be in liters
Pressure must be in atmospheres
Temperature in Kelvin
Example Problem Using Ideal Gas Law
Calculate the Volume Occupied by Nitrogen Gas:
Given:
Moles (n) = 0.854 moles
Pressure (P) = 1.37 atm
Temperature (T) = 315 K
Setup the Equation:
Calculating Volume:
Substitute known values into the equation:
Final calculation yields:
Conversion and Final Calculation for Helium Sample
Given:
Mass = 0.133 g of helium
Volume = 648 mL (Convert to liters: V = 0.648 L)
Temperature = 32 °C (Convert to Kelvin: T = 305 K)
Convert Mass to Moles:
Molar mass of Helium = 4 g/mol
Moles (n) = 0.133 g ÷ 4 g/mol = 0.03325 moles
Setup the Ideal Gas Law for Pressure (P):
Substitute Values into the Pressure Equation:
This results in pressure in atmospheres:
Convert Pressure to mmHg:
1 atm = 760 mmHg
Final pressure rounded to significant figures yields: