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Chemical  Principles  and  Processes:   Example  2:  Proper7es  of  Gases  

Proper7es  of  Gases  
Empirical/inductive approach
• Measure pairwise relationships between different
physical properties of gases: temperature (T),
volume (V), pressure (P), amount (n)
• Collate and generalize into an overall relationship

Rational/deductive approach
• Assume molecules obey Newton’s laws of motion
• (Ignoring effects of interactions between them)
Dr  Deborah  Cri<enden  
• Derive relationship between P, V, n, T
deborah.cri<enden@canterbury.ac.nz  
 

Three  assump7ons   Deriving  the  Ideal  Gas  Law  

• Volume of gas molecules is negligible compared • See handout
to size of box • Also referred to as kinetic theory of ideal gases
• Interactions between gas molecules are • Key steps/results:
negligible compared to kinetic energy
• No energy is lost when molecules collide with
wall

Molecular  mo7on   Molecular  mo7on  

• How fast do gas molecules move on average in • How fast do air molecules move?
an ideal gas? • Air is mostly nitrogen (N2, M = 28 g mol-1 = 0.028
• Get this information ‘for free’ from first-principles kg mol-1)
derivation of Ideal Gas Law • Room temperature ≈ 298 K
 
v (predicted) = 515 m s-1
= 1854 km/hr
v (experiment) = 340 m s-1
= 1224 km/hr

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Molecular  mo7on   Brainstorm  

• Why the difference between theory and

experiment?
• What is missing from our theory?

v (expt) = 340 m s-1 = 1224 km/hr

 

Follow-­‐up  ques7on   Kine7c  theory  of  ideal  gases  -­‐  concepts  

• Why isn’t all matter solid?

• Complete handout
• Work individually or in
pairs
• You have 10 minutes
to get as many
questions done as you
can

Quiz  7me   Dalton’s  Law  

Everyone on your feet! • The total pressure exerted by a mixture of
gases is the sum of the partial pressures of
each individual gas

Ptotal = P1 + P2 + … + PN

• The partial pressure of a gas is the pressure

that would be exerted by that gas if it were
alone in the container

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Par7al  Pressure  (in  theory)   Par7al  Pressure  (in  theory)  

Hard  to  
1 1
separate  
0 2 0 2
gases  
completely  
✕
➙ ➙
1 1
0 2 0 2

Easy  to  
0
1
2 0
1
2 measure  
rela7ve  
concentra7ons  

Calcula7ng  Par7al  Pressure   Generaliza7on  

• From the Ideal Gas Law: • Define the mole fraction of a gas in a mixture:

P∝n (constant V, T) xi  =        ni              =        Pi  

ntotal     Ptotal  
• So, for any component gas in a mixture:
 
can’t measure Pi  =  xi  Ptotal  
Pi = ni
can determine  
Ptotal ntotal = mole fraction
 

Tutorial  Ques7on   Tutorial  Problem  

1 mole of O2 and 2 moles of NH3 are placed in a 1 mole of O2 and 2 moles of H2 are placed in a airtight
container at 850 °C. The following reaction proceeds stainless steel container, with a piezoelectric ignition
to completion: switch inside. Upon ignition, the following reaction
proceeds to completion:
4 NH3 + 5 O2 → 4 NO + 6 H2O
2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2 H2O (l)
If the final total pressure in the container is 5.00
atmospheres, what are the partial pressures of each What is the final pressure inside the container?
gas?

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Tutorial  Problem   To  op7mize  your  exam  marks  

1 mole of O2 and 3 moles of H2 are placed in a airtight • Further practice with exam-style questions:
stainless steel container, with a piezoelectric ignition - BestChoice Dalton’s Law module
switch inside. Upon ignition, the following reaction
proceeds to completion:

2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2 H2O (l)

If the final pressure inside the container is 0.2 atm at

room temperature (298.15 K), what is the volume of
the container?

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