Thermodynamics-II

Submitted to: Madam Youmnah

Submitted by: FA16-CHE-098
FA16-CHE-009

FA16-CHE-029

Section/Semester: B/6th

Date: 19th April 2019

 Experiment # 4:

Determination of Molar Mass of Gases using

ideal gas law

 Objective:
To determine the molar mass of Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas using ideal gas law. Discuss
the results in terms of real and ideal behavior.
 Principle:
All the gases are considered to obey ideal gas law which relates pressure P, volume V,
temperature T and the amount of substance n of a gas.
The amount of gas n is expressed as the number of moles and is equal to m/M where m is
the mass of gas present and M is the molar mass of the gas. The volume occupied by a
known mass of gas is to be measured at a given temperature and pressure, so that the ideal
gas equation can be used to determine the molar mass of the gas.

 Theory:
The behavior of real gases is extremely complicated; however, it is essentially the
antithesis of that of ideal gases. Although no gas has these properties, the behavior of real
gases is described quite closely by the ideal gas law at sufficiently high temperatures and
low pressures, when relatively large distances between molecules and their high speeds
overcome any interaction. A gas does not obey the equation when conditions are such that
the gas, or any of the component gases in a mixture, is near its condensation point.

In this investigation, it is assumed that the gas behaves ideally.

Ideal Gas Law:
PV =nRT Equation (1)
n=m/M
PV=m/MRT
M= mRT / PV
Where n is amount of gas expressed as the number of moles and is equal to m/M, where m
is mass of gas and M is molar mass of gas.

R is ideal gas constant = 8.31433 Pa.m3.k-1.mol-1

Even at standard temperature and pressure (T=298K, P=1 bar) many gases obey equation
1 remarkably well and it may be used to determine the molar masses of gases in a simple
way.

 Figure:
 Apparatus:
 Opener
 Measure Balance
 Compressed gas, carbon dioxide
 Vacuum pump
 Universal clamp
 Right angle clamp
 Support rod
 Gas syringe holder with stop
 Silicon grease
 Glass sphere with 2 stopcocks, 100ml
 Safety bottle with manometer

 Procedure:
 Set the apparatus with all accessories.
 Thoroughly clean and dry the syringe and the glass bulb and lightly grease the three-way
stopcock
 Make sure that the plunger stop is positioned to prevent the plunger from being fully
removed from the syringe barrel. while still allowing the syringe to be filled to its
 maximum volume of 100 ml.
 In the following, we assumed S1 is the three-way stopcock on the syringe, S2 is the Teflon
stopcock between S1 and the glass bulb and S3 is the Teflon stopcock between the glass
bulb and the pump.
 We closed S2 and opened S3 and evacuated the glass bulb by pumping for 10 minutes.
 We closed S3 and disconnected the bulb from the vacuum line and weighed it on the
measuring balance (say m1).
 After weighing, we reconnected the bub to the vacuum line and opened S2 and S3.
 We turned S1 to connect both the syringe and the bulb to the gas bottle and evacuated
the entire vacuum line for further 5-10 minutes.
 Closed S2 and S3 and carefully open the needle valve regulator on the gas bottle to fill the
syringe with gas
 Record the volume of gas in the syringe to the nearest 0.5ml.
 Fill the bulb with gas by turning S1 through 180⁰and slowly open S2.
 After closing S2, remove the bulb from the vacuum line and re-weigh it.
 Calculate the mass of the gas in the bulb and record it together with ambient temperature
and pressure.
 Replace the bulb and repeat the procedure twice before measuring the next gas.

 Observations and Calculations

Gas used in experiment = Carbon dioxide

Ambient pressure = P = 1 atm

Ambient temperature=301K
Volume of cylinder = V=0.1 dm3

General gas constant = R = 0.0821 dm3 atm K-1 mol-1

Mass of empty bulb = m1 = 71.28 g
After filling gas, weight = m2 = 71.47 g
Mass of gas = m = m2 - m1
m = 71.47 g –71.28g
 m=0.19g
PV=m/MRT
1bar*0.1=0.19/M*8.314J/gK*298k
M= 47.074g/mol
As the standard molar mass of CO2 = 44.01 g mol-1

%age error = (Experimentally determined molar mass of CO2) – (Standard molar mass of CO2)

= 47.074 - 44.01
= 3.074%

 Results and Discussions:

From above observations, it is concluded that experimentally determined molar mass of
carbon dioxide is greater than the standard molar mass of carbon dioxide due to human
error or measuring balance error

 Safety Precautions:
 Thoroughly clean and dry the syringe and the glass bulb.
 Carefully open the needle valve regulator on the gas cylinder.
 Ensure that at the end of experiment vacuum pump is switched off.

 Applications:
 Ideal gas law can also be used in stoichiometry problems where chemical reaction involves.
 The ideal gas law can be used to calculate the volume of gaseous products.

 References:
 https://www.academia.edu/27481971/Determining_the_Molar_Mass_of_an_Unknown_
Gas
 http://www.digipac.ca/chemical/gaslaws/gasmass.htm
 http://chem.lapeer.org/Chem2Docs/MassesOfGases.html