31.8k views
0 votes
Determine the molecular mass of a gas where 3.87 g occupies 0.896 l at standard conditions.

1 Answer

2 votes
Let's assume that the gas has ideal gas behavior.

Ideal gas law,

PV = nRT (1)

Where, P is the pressure of the gas (Pa), V is the volume of the gas (m³), n is the number of moles of gas (mol), R is the universal gas constant ( 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹) and T is temperature in Kelvin.

n = m/M (2)

Where, n is number of moles, m is mass and M is molar mass.

From (1) and (2),
PV = (m/M) RT

By rearranging,
M = (mRT)/PV (3)

P = standard pressure = 1 atm = 101325 pa
V = 0.896 L = 0.896 x 10⁻³ m³
R = 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹
T = Standard temperature = 273 K
m =
3.87 g = 3.87 x 10⁻³ kg
M = ?

By appying the formula,
M =(
3.87 x 10⁻³ kg x 8.314 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ x 273 K) /101325 pa x 0.896 x 10⁻³m³
M = 0.0967 kg
M = 96.7 g.

Hence, the molar mass of the gas is 96.7 g.

User Emmett
by
8.1k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.