The ideal gas law, PV = nRT is independent of the kind of gas. In other words, t

Question

The ideal gas law, PV = nRT is independent of the kind of gas. In other words, the pressure exerted by a given number of ideal gas particles is the same whether the sample consists of all one type of particle or a mixture of different kinds of particles. Therefore, the pressure exerted by a mixture of gases can be expressed as follows: A partial pressure is the pressure exerted by just one type of gas in a mixture. A partial pressure is calculated using only the number of moles of that particular gas, instead of the total number of moles. The sum of the partial pressures is equal to the total pressure in the mixture: P_total = P_1 + P_2 + P_3 + ... An "empty" container is not really empty if it contains air. How may moles of nitrogen are in an "empty" two-liter cola bottle at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (25 degree C)? Assume ideal behavior. Express your answer to three significant figures and include the appropriate units.

Explanation / Answer

PART A Partial Pressure = Total Pressure * Mole fraction of N2 gas

Thus the partial pressure of nitrogen in air at atmospheric pressure (1 atm) is

= (78/100)* 1atm

= 0.78 atm.

PART B Using ideal gas equation

PV = nRT

(0.780 atm N2) (2 Litre) = n (0.08206 L-atm/mol-K) (298 Kelvin)
n = 0.0638 moles of N2 = 6.38 x 10^-2 mol

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