CHM 142: Environmental Chemistry Laboratory

(revised 1/12)

The Ideal Gas Law: Determination of R, the Gas-Law Constant

Scientific Methodology

Experiment 2 Week 2

The gas constant is a universal constant and has a well established value but can have different values depending upon the units associated with it. It comes in very handy when one is trying to determine the pressure, volume, moles, or temperature of an ideal gas. Your task is to determine -1 -1 the value with the units of L atm mol K . Understanding the Techniques & Theory A very important equation involving gases is called the ideal gas law: PV = nRT (1)

where P is the pressure of a gas sample in atm; V is the volume of the sample in L; n is the moles of gas in the sample; R is a proportionality constant called the ideal gas constant, whose theoretical L atm value is 0.08206 mol K ; and T is the absolute temperature of the gas in K. So if you know the pressure, volume, moles of gas, and temperature of a gas sample, you can calculate the gas constant, R. The critical point to note about the ideal gas equation is that it is necessary to have pressure in atmospheres, volume in L and temperature in Kelvins to obtain a valid result. Conversion factors that you will need in this experiment include 1 atm = 760 torr; 1 L = 1000 mL; and TK = TC + 273.

Understanding the Experiment In this particular experiment, you need to find the pressure, volume, moles, and temperature of the hydrogen collected in a tube from the unbalanced reaction seen in equation 2 Mg(s) + HCl aq) -----> MgCl2(aq) + H2(g) (2)

You can measure the temperature of the gas with a thermometer. The volume of gas can be read using the volumetric cylinder. The moles of gas you can get from the stoichiometric ratio of the Mg ribbon; if you know the mass of the Mg you know the moles of the Mg and thus the H 2. The pressure of hydrogen gas cannot be measured directly. As there are two sources of pressure because the hydrogen gas is collected over water. So, how does one calculate the pressure of the hydrogen gas? You will be provided with the atmospheric pressure for the day (it changes by the day as the weatherman gives it in his/her daily report). There are two sources of pressure: the pressure of the collected hydrogen (pH ) in torr and the pressure due to the water vapor. The second source of
2

pressure, which is called the vapor pressure of water (pH O) is caused by the evaporation of water
2

into the collected gas. Obviously, the vapor pressure of water is dependent upon temperature as you would expect; the greater the temperature of the water the more the liquid should be converted into a gas. The vapor pressure values of water can be found in your text (listed as partial pressures). pATM = pH + pH O 2 2 (3)

Page 2 Solving for pH gives

2

pH = pATM - pH O 2 2

(4)

In essence this equation is saying that the total gas pressure inside the cylinder consists of two different gases, H2 and H2O and it is said that the partial pressures of H2 and H2O are equal to the total pressure, not only in the cylinder but also the atmospheric pressure.

Equipment and reagents: Mg strips 6M HCl Copper wire Metric ruler 100 mL graduated cylinder (50 mL cylinders will work) dont use the yellow ones because they have too large a pouring lip) One-hole stopper (smaller hole is better) Thermometer 400 mL beaker 3 pronged clamp food coloring

Procedure: Obtain a piece of magnesium ribbon approximately 5 cm long. Weigh the magnesium ribbon on an analytical balance to the nearest 0.0001 g. Compress your sample into a compact bundle, and wrap it in all directions with about 20 cm of fine copper wire, forming a small basket or cage, leaving 5 cm of the wire straight as a handle. The cage should have no openings through which small pieces of magnesium ribbon can escape (Figure 1). Attach a 3-pronged clamp in position to hold a 100-mL graduated cylinder. Fill a 400-mL beaker about two-thirds full of tap water. Incline the measuring tube slightly, and pour in about 10 mL of 6M HCl and add some food coloring. Slowly fill the tube with DI water, and rinse down any acid that may be on the side of the tube so that the liquid in the top of the tube will contain very little acid. Dislodge any bubbles clinging to the side of the tube by tapping the tube gently.

Figure 1

Hold the copper cage by the handle, and insert it about 3 cm down into the tube (Figure 2). Hook the wire over the edge of the tube, and hold it in place by inserting the rubber stopper. Make certain no air is entrapped in the tube.

Page 2

Figure 2 Cover the hole in the stopper with your finger and invert the tube in the beaker of water as shown in Figure 3. Clamp it in place. As the acid is more dense than the water, it will eventually fall down through and react with the magnesium.

Volume of Hydrogen

Figure 2
Figure 3 After the reaction stops, let the apparatus cool to room temperature (about 5 minutes). Dislodge any bubbles clinging to the sides of the tube. Read and record the volume of the gas liberated (Figure 3). Take the temperature of the gas by holding a thermometer in contact with the side of the tube. Obtain the barometer reading for the day from the instructor, and correct the value for the partial pressure of the water. Do this experiment a minimum of three times.

Page 3 Analysis Determine R. A. You will need to get P (or in this case pH ) from the total atmospheric pressure and the
2

B. C. D. E.

partial pressure of water and convert mmHg to atm. You will need to get V from the graduated cylinder and correct for units. You will need to get n from the mass of the Mg and use the stoichiometry of equation 2 to get the moles of H2. You will need to get T and make sure that your units are correct. Finally you will need to combine all of these variables to determine R.

Laboratory Write-up Your laboratory write-up should include: Objective: 1. Write the objective, word for word, that you used in your laboratory notebook. 2. Write a New & Improved objective if the one in your notebook was not satisfactory. Data section: 1. Prepare one neat, well-labeled table containing all the data necessary for the determination of the gas constant. Some of these data were only measured once while others were done three times. If you used the mass of the Mg, even in an indirect way, it should be included in the table. Include the calculated gas-law constant, R, from the ideal-gas law including an average and the standard deviation for R. 2. Be sure to show (and label) your calculations that show how you calculated the pressure of hydrogen gas and the gas-law constant, R, from the ideal-gas law, as well as mol H2. These can be done using computer software or by attaching a handwritten page from your lab notebook (turn in the carbon copy). Make sure you use appropriate units. Data Interpretation:

What is the value you obtained for R. Is it a reasonable value? If so, why? If not, why not?

Conclusion: Write a conclusion. Your conclusion should address your objective above.

Questions: What is the greatest source of error in the experiment and how would this error affect the gas constant? If possible, calculate how large that error would have to have been. For example, suppose you say that the balance was off. Calculate what the mass would need to have been in order for the gas constant to come out to be the known value of 0.08206 Latm/molK.