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Jordan Brady
Alyssa Perko, Hailey Smith
Heat Capacity Ratios of Gases
Abstract:
The heat capacities of gases are an integral part of their thermodynamic properties,
thus making them known is of great importance when working with them. This
experiment takes this property in mind to find the ratios between the specific
pressure and specific volume heat capacities of gases which is often referred to as
the lowercased roman letter gamma when used in thermodynamic equations. The
purpose of this lab was to find the heat capacity ratios of various gases using two
different methods, adiabatic expansion of gases and speed of sound through gas, so
that they could be compared to known values and test the reliability of these two
testing methods. Upon experimentation, the adiabatic expansion procedure resulted
in ratios of 3.79, 3.66, and 4.21 for Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Argon
respectively, while the speed of sound procedure resulted in ratios of 1.41, 1.33,
and 1.68 respectively. These values could then be compared to the known heat
capacity ratios of 1.404, 1.300, and 1.670 and find the difference between the two
experiments. After comparisons, the procedure of adiabatic expansion that was
found to result in inaccurate values for the ratios, and the speed of sound test
procedure was found to result in very accurate values for the ratios compared to the
known values.
Intro:
The purpose of this experiment was to find the heat capacity ratios of three
different gases, which have large significance in the gas thermodynamic properties.
During this lab two different methods were used to determine the heat capacity
ratios. The first being the Clement and Desormes method, which uses a reversible
adiabatic expansion of the gas to determine the heat capacity ratio.
The apparatus used in the adiabatic expansion experiment is shown below in Figure
1.

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Figure 1.
In a reversible adiabatic expansion of a gas the rate is treated as being always in
equilibrium while also not adding heat to the system so that all of the work done is
done only by the gas due to a change in either the internal pressure, temperature,
or volume of the system. In this procedure we measure the pressure when the gas is
allowed to expand and cool to equilibrium, and when the temperature is returned to
room temperature while keeping the volume constant. Using these values the heat
capacity ratios of the gases can be found by using the equation, Cp/Cv = ln (P1/P2) /
ln (P1/P3) where Cp/Cv is the heat capacity ratio, and P1-3 are collected values from
experimentation. The heat capacity ratios found using this method can then be
compared to values found by the second method. (1)
The second method used in this experiment was the speed of sound method that
makes use of a Kundts tube shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2

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The tube is filled with the gas being test and then a 1000Hz sound is played into
the tube, during which a microphone connected to a receiver is pushed down the
tube. As the microphone is pushed down the tube the receiver shows the distances
at which the sound waves cancel each other out creating a node. Using the distance
between these nodes the speed of sound through the gas can be found using the
equation, c = f, where c is the speed of sound through the gas, is the
wavelength of the sound waves, and f is the frequency that is used during the
experiment. Then using the speed of sound through that gas the heat capacity ratio
can be found by using the equation, Cp/Cv = M*c^2/R*T, where M is the molar mass
of the gas, R is the ideal gas constant, and T is the temperature of the gas inside
the tube. (3)
The results that are expected to be obtained through these experiments are the
heat capacity ratios of all the gases tested. These values can then be compared to
known values that have been calculated in previous experiments. Once
comparisons are completed, it can be determined whether the experiments used in
this procedure are good enough to produce reliable results and used for further data
collection of various other gases.

Results/Discussions:
Through adiabatic expansion and speed of sound experimentation, data for each of
the three gases, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, and Argon, were found. Using this data
and the respective equations associated with each experiment two different heat
capacity ratios were found for each gas. For nitrogen gas the adiabatic expansion
experiment resulted in a heat capacity ratio of 3.79, while the speed of sound

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experiment came up with a ratio of 1.41. The difference between these two results
is fairly large which could be due to variance in recording data or difference in how
the two experiments record data. For Carbon Dioxide gas the adiabatic expansion
experiment resulted in a heat capacity ratio of 3.66, while the speed of sound
experiment came up with a ratio of 1.33. Again like nitrogen, the two values for the
heat capacity ratios are fairly dissimilar from each other. One explanation for this
occurrence could be like Nitrogen being variances in measuring data due to the
experiments being different, but it also may be that Carbon Dioxide does not act as
ideally as other gases. For Argon gas the adiabatic expansion experiment resulted in
a heat capacity ratio of 4.21, while the speed of sound experiment came up with a
ratio of 1.68.In comparison to how different the two values were for Nitrogen and
Carbon Dioxide, the addition of the Argon acting in a similar fashion shows that
something may have been wrong with the recording method of one of our
experiments.
The known values for Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Argon were looked up and
found to be 1.404, 1.300, and 1.670 respectively. (2) When compared to known heat
capacity ratios it was found that the resultant ratios that our adiabatic expansion
experiment found were ~3x higher than recorded values for each gas, while the
results from the Kundts tube were closely related to known values for the gas heat
capacity ratios. We have currently not found a reason for such an accident for the
adiabatic expansion experiment other than mathematical error or errors created
while gathering the data.
Method:
Clement and Desormes Method (Adiabatic Expansion):
To run this experiment requires the setup of the apparatus shown in Figure 1. Also
before you start your testing check the atmospheric pressure in mmHg, this will be
P2 for your data. Once that is completed, tube A is connected to the gas being
tested (either Argon, Nitrogen, or Carbon Dioxide). Open clamp A and B and close
clamp C so that the flow goes through the tank and out, but not to the monometer.
Proceed to flood the tank with the gas being tested for ~15 minutes so that no
other gas is contained in the carboy. Once it is adequately flooded slow the flow of
gas into the carboy by partially closing clamp A, then open clamp C with care as to
not blow out any liquid from the monometer. Carefully close clamp B and allow the
gas to pressurize the monometer up to ~600mm of Dibutyl Pthalate (DBP), then
close Clamp A. Wait 15 minutes for the pressure to equilibrate and then record the
level of the DBP, this number is converted from mmDBP to mmHg and then added
to P2 to obtain P1. Pull the cork off the carboy and then replace as quickly as
possible, then wait another 15 minutes or less for the monometer to equilibrate
once again. Record this number and convert to mmHg, then add to P2 to obtain P3.
Run this experiment multiple times to reduce redundancies. For this experiment the
values for the heat capacity ratios are then calculated using the equations stated
earlier for this method.
Speed of Sound Method (Kundts Tube):

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Set up a Kundts tube shown in Figure 2 with help from a lab TA or professor so that
they may help you understand the specific type of machines the lab uses for this
procedure. Once this is done flood the tube with the gas being tested, in this case
the gases being tested were Nitrogen, Argon and Carbon Dioxide. After the tube is
flooded turn down the flow of gas to a minimum to keep air out and turn on the
speaker and receiver, the speaker should be set at 1000Hz for all three of these
gases. Put the battery into the microphone. Slowly move the microphone towards
the speaker while watching the receiver. Whenever the receiver shows a straight
line leaning to the left or right, that is one of your nodes and the distance the
microphone has been moved should be recorded. If it is leaning left it is a 0 degree
node, while the line leaning to the right means it is a 180 degree node. Keep slowly
pushing the microphone down the tube while recording every node that you find.
Repeat this process three times, or until you feel you have enough data for each gas
that is being tested. The values for the heat capacity ratios are then calculated
using the equations stated earlier for this method.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this lab was to find the heat capacity ratios for three gases so that
they could be compared to real value that have been found through other
experiments. Both the adiabatic expansion and Kundts tube experiments were
performed on each gas, and using the data collected from each experiment their
heat capacity ratios were found.
This purpose was fulfilled through experimentation and values for all three gases
were found. These values obtained through the adiabatic expansion experiment
though, when compared to known values were all comparatively larger than the
known values on a scale of ~3 times the known values. This may have been from
errors in calculations, or errors in data gather, or a combination of both. The Kundts
tube values though, were close in proximity to the known values and led us to
believe that it was a more accurate representation of finding the values in
comparison to using the adiabatic expansion method. In future tests, the adiabatic
expansion procedure could be replaced or taken out of this experiment due to its
inaccuracy in results in favor of another experiment that would be easier to produce
sound results with. (1)

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N2
Table 1 (Adiabatic Expansion):

P1
P2
P3
Cp/
Cv

1
739
.40
696
.00
727
.50
3.7
3

2
739
.01
696
.00
727
.50
3.8
2

3
738
.71
696
.00
727
.26
3.8
1

Avg
739
.04
696
.00
727
.42
3.7
9

Table 2 (Kundts Tube):

N2

d1

d2

d3

d4

d5

d6

/2
(m)
f (Hz)
M
(kg/mo
l)

Ar

17.93
0.35
1000

17.36

17.72

17.47

17.73

17.43

avg
17.606
67

0.028
1.41

Table 1 (Adiabatic Expansion):

P1
P2
P3
Cp/Cv

1
732.3
4
688.0
0
721.6
3
4.24

2
731.7
9
688.0
0
721.1
2
4.20

3
732.1
9
688.0
0
721.4
2
4.20

Avg
732.1
1
688.0
0
721.3
9
4.21

Table 2 (Kundts Tube):

Argon

d1

d2

d3

d4

d5

d6

/2
(m)
f (Hz)
M
(kg/mo
l)

16.01
0.32
1000

16.02

15.94

16.34

15.65

16.17

0.03995

avg
16.021
67

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1.68

CO2
Table 1 (Adiabatic Expansion):

P1
P2
P3
Cp/Cv

1
730.5
9
688.0
0
718.7
1
3.66

2
730.8
7
688.0
0
718.7
9
3.63

3
730.5
4
688.0
0
718.7
5
3.69

Avg
730.67
688.00
718.75
3.66

Table 2 (Kundts Tube):

CO2

d1

d2

d3

d4

d5

d6

/2
(m)
f (Hz)
M
(kg/mo
l)

13.86
0.27
1000

13.79

13.26

13.76

13.36

13.52

0.04401
1.33

avg
13.591
67

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Bibliography
(1) FIU.edu. (2015, 9 21). Experiment 3. Heat-Capacity Ratios for Gases. Adiabatic
Expansion Method. Retrieved from fiu.edu:
http://www2.fiu.edu/~mebela/chm3410l_intro_exp.pdf
(2) Heat Capacity Ratio. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_capacity_ratio
(3) HEAT CAPACITY RATIO FOR GASES (g). (2003, 9). Retrieved from
tccc.iesl.forth.gr: http://tccc.iesl.forth.gr/education/local/Labs-PCII/2PA35HC.pdf