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The label on an aerosol spray can contains a warning that the can should not be heated to over 130 °F because of the danger of explosion due to

the pressure increase as it is heated. Calculate the potential volume of the gas contained in a 500.-mL aerosol can when it is heated from 25 °C to 54
°C (approximately 130 °F), assuming a constant pressure.

User Thiezar
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4 votes

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use the ideal gas law, which relates the pressure, volume, temperature, and number of moles of a gas:

PV = nRT

where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles, R is the gas constant, and T is the temperature in Kelvin.

First, we need to convert the initial temperature of 25 °C to Kelvin:

T1 = 25 °C + 273.15 = 298.15 K

Then, we can use the initial conditions to find the number of moles of gas:

n = PV/RT1

where we can assume that the pressure is atmospheric pressure (1 atm) and R is the ideal gas constant (0.0821 L·atm/mol·K).

n = (1 atm)(0.5 L)/(0.0821 L·atm/mol·K)(298.15 K) = 0.0204 mol

Next, we can use the final temperature of 54 °C (327.15 K) to find the final volume:

V2 = nRT2/P

V2 = (0.0204 mol)(0.0821 L·atm/mol·K)(327.15 K)/(1 atm) = 0.551 L

Finally, we can subtract the initial volume from the final volume to find the potential volume increase:

ΔV = V2 - V1 = 0.551 L - 0.5 L = 0.051 L

Therefore, if the aerosol can is heated to 54 °C, the potential volume of the gas contained in the can would increase by approximately 0.051 L. However, this increase in volume would cause a corresponding increase in pressure, which could lead to an explosion if the can is not designed to withstand the increased pressure.

User Kim Hallberg
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