Gas physics summary, mole summary

1. Explain the following macroscopic properties using molecular or atomic behaviour:

a) Solids cannot be compressed while gases can

b) During melting, a substance stays at constant temperature (hint: think about the types of
particle energies)

c) A gas expands when heated.

d) A gas inside a syringe develops higher pressure when the plunger is pushed in.
e) Solids are better conductors of heat than gases

f) A gas experiences increased pressured when heated in a fixed-volume container

2. Explain how evaporation works by completing the following paragraph:

The particles in a liquid have a range of energies. The more energetic particles near the
_____________ of the liquid will be able to overcome ______________________________________
exerted by neighbouring molecules. As these energetic particles leave, the average kinetic energy of the
body of liquid __________. As a result, a body of evaporating liquid will (warm up or cool down?) during
the process.

3. A 5.4-litre balloon, filled up with helium near ground level at 25oC where atmospheric pressure
is 100 kPa, is allowed to rise in air. What will be its volume when it reaches an altitude where the
pressure is only 30 kPa and the temperature is -40oC?

4. A sealable glass jar can tolerate a maximum pressure of 400 kPa. The jar is sealed with air at 100
kPa and 25 oC. How hot can we heat the jar before it explodes?
5. A 1.5 dm3 sample of an ideal gas at ordinary pressure is cooled from room temperature (25 oC)
to 0 oC. Find the new volume in dm3.

6. i) What happens to the volume of 100 cm3 gas if its Kelvin temperature is tripled and its pressure
is doubled? ii) Calculate the final pressure of a gas if the starting pressure is 100 kPa, the volume is
halved and the Kelvin temperature is quadrupled.

15. A balloon can tolerate a maximum volume of 2.3 dm3 before exploding. The balloon is filled with
1.5 dm3 of helium under ordinary pressure (100 kPa), and it is then allowed to rise to an altitude where
the surrounding pressure is 75 kPa. Assume temperature stays constant. Will it explode? [3]

16. A gas thermometer is found to have a volume of 200.0 cm3 when placed in an ice-water bath at
0°C. When the thermometer bulb is immersed in boiling liquid chlorine, the volume of gas at the same
pressure is found to be 174.4 cm3. What is the boiling point of chlorine? [3]
17. A 50 dm3 gas tank contains 12 atmospheric pressures (1200 kPa) of helium gas. How many 2 dm3
balloons can the gas in the tank inflate under normal external pressure of 100 kPa? (Hint: answer is not
300) [4]

18. At 20 m deep, a fish breaths out a 6.0 mm3 gas bubble.

a) Calculate the water pressure at 20m deep, given that the density of sea water is about 1040 kg /
m3. [2]

b) Atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa, as usual. Calculate the total pressure experienced by the
bubble at 20m deep. [1]

c) Calculate the volume of the gas bubble just before it emerges from the water surface, assuming
that temperature has stayed constant. [2]

19. A 50 cm3 syringe at room temperature (25 oC) and normal pressure (100 kPa) is rapidly
compressed to 25 cm3. A pressure gauge connected to the syringe reads 203 kPa. Is Boyle's law obeyed?
If yes, explain why. If not, calculate the final temperature of the gas inside the syringe, and suggest a
reason for the change in temperature. [3]
20. Consider the following setup – a large beaker, a round-bottomed flask connected to a syringe
through a glass tube inserted through a rubber bung, and a thermometer.

a) Circle the correct gas law that can be investigated using this setup: [1]

Boyles' law Charles' law Pressure law

b) The beaker is to be filled with water that's used achieve various temperatures. Draw a suitable
level for the water inside the beaker. [1]

c) Some students suggest inserting a electronic temperature probe that consists of a thermistor,
directly into the round-bottomed flask through the rubber bung.

i) Describe in general how a thermistor can serve as a thermometer [2]

ii) Suggest the main advantage, and suggest 1 disadvantage of the students' suggestion. [2]
d) Label the axes, and draw a line in the graph below to indicate how the volume of a gas is
expected to change with increasing Celsius temperature of the gas. [3]

e) The syringe has a maximum volume of 90 cm3. The syringe reads 10 cm3 when the gas is cooled
to 7.0 oC, and the syringe reads 48 cm3 when the gas is heated to 45.0 oC.

i) Use algebra and the suitable gas law to calculate the combined volume of the round-bottomed
flask and the connecting glass tube.[4]

ii) By referring to the setup diagram, explain why the temperature reading is inevitably inaccurate,
even had the thermistor probe been used. Suggest an improvement on this deficiency. [1]

iii) The water is now brought to a boil. Will the syringe plunger get entirely pushed out? [3]