Bondoc, Kristopher Jayson C.

4 July 2012
CH 45 A: Physical Chemistry 1, Laboratory Instructor: Erwin P. Enriquez, Ph.D.

Experiment 2: Gas Density

Derived Data Tables

oxygen Wbulb W1bulb+gas h1 h2 W2bulb+gas

unit g g cmHg cmHg g
uncertainty (±) 0.0001 0.0001 0.05 0.05 0.0001
trial 1 102.0553 102.2287 42.40 29.60 102.2550
trial 2 102.0500 102.1309 52.30 20.50 102.1930
trial 3 102.0681 102.2399 39.20 32.70 102.2660

wet air Wbulb W1bulb+gas h1 h2 W2bulb+gas

unit g g cmHg cmHg g
uncertainty (±) 0.0001 0.0001 0.05 0.05 0.0001
trial 1 102.0596 102.1505 51.60 21.00 102.1945
trial 2 102.0682 102.1757 47.90 24.50 102.2277
trial 3 102.0589 102.2378 40.70 31.30 102.2608

oxygen h h Prec mgas mfinal

unit cmHg mmHg mmHg g g
uncertainty (±) 0.071 0.71 0.71 0.00014 0.00014
trial 1 12.80 128.00 624.75 0.1734 0.1997
trial 2 31.80 318.00 434.75 0.0809 0.1430
trial 3 6.50 65.00 687.75 0.1718 0.1979

wet air h h Prec mgas mfinal

unit cmHg mmHg mmHg g
uncertainty (±) 0.071 0.71 0.71 0.00014 0.00014
trial 1 30.60 306.00 446.75 0.0909 0.1349
trial 2 23.40 234.00 518.75 0.1075 0.1595
trial 3 9.40 94.00 658.75 0.1789 0.2019

oxygen Pgas Pgas UNC mgas/vol mgas/vol UNC

unit mmHg mmHg g/mL g/mL
uncertainty (±)
trial 1 542.5 0.85 0.0007699 0.00000065
trial 2 246.0 0.64 0.0003592 0.00000063
trial 3 597.0 0.90 0.0007628 0.00000065
 wet air Pgas Pgas UNC mgas/vol mgas/vol UNC
unit mmHg mmHg g/mL g/mL
uncertainty (±)
trial 1 301.0 0.74 0.0004036 0.00000063
trial 2 349.6 0.73 0.0004773 0.00000064
trial 3 583.7 0.88 0.0007943 0.00000065

Pgas mgas/vol
oxygen Pgas mgas/vol RT M M UNC
UNC UNC
unit atm atm g/L g/L L*atm/mol g/mol g/mol
uncertainty
trial 1 0.7138 0.0011 0.7699 0.00065 24.671 26.61 0.065
trial 2 0.3236 0.00084 0.3592 0.00063 24.671 27.38 0.097
trial 3 0.7856 0.0012 0.7628 0.00065 24.671 23.96 0.057

Pgas mgas/vol
wet air Pgas mgas/vol RT M M UNC
UNC UNC
unit atm atm g/L g/L L*atm/mol g/mol g/mol
uncertainty
trial 1 0.3961 0.0010 0.4036 0.00063 24.671 25.14 0.084
trial 2 0.4600 0.00096 0.4773 0.00064 24.671 25.60 0.076
trial 3 0.7680 0.0012 0.7943 0.00065 24.671 25.52 0.061

molar
density Partial density mass
of wet pressure of dry of dry
LABELS air of dry air air air
Wbulb weight of the bulb kg/m3 Pa kg/m3 g/mol
weight of the bulb plus the gas, first
W1bulb+gas weighing
weight of the bulb plus the gas, second
W2bulb+gas weighing 0.4036 33090.17 0.3834 29.60
h height difference in manometer 0.4773 39451.09 0.4571 29.36
recorded pressure (same as h, but
Prec expressed in mmHg) 0.7943 66810.70 0.7742 28.85
mgas mass of the gas
mfinal mass of the gas+air
Pgas pressure of the gas
mgas/vol gas density
RT gas constant times the temperature in K
M calculated molar mass
UNC absolute uncertainty
Results and Discussion

Introduction
Gas, being one of the three simple states of matter, is composed of particles that are far apart
(except during intermolecular collisions) making them fill any container it occupies. The physical
state, or simply the state, of a pure gas is defined by four physical properties: pressure, volume,
number of moles and temperature, three of which can suffice since the fourth one can be derived
from the other three variables. Hence, the general form for the equation of state of a perfect gas is:

, where p is the pressure, T is the temperature, V is the volume and n is the number
of moles of a perfect gas. (Eq. 1: Equation of State of a Perfect Gas)

It is important to take note that although each substance has its own equation of state, only a few
explicitly known forms of equations are known. In this case, the four physical properties needed to
specify the state of a perfect gas can be expressed as:

, where p is the pressure, T is the temperature, V is the volume, n is the number of moles
of a perfect gas, and R is the gas constant. R=8.20574*10-2 L atm mol-1 K-1=8.31447 J mol-1 K-1. (Eq.
2: Equation of State of a Perfect Gas, expressed explicitly)

The observed relationship of the four physical quantities that specify the state of a perfect gas is
bound by the conclusions established by different scientists who first studied the behavior of gases
at particular experimental situations. The inverse relationship between p and V (at constant T and n)
was established by a scientist named Robert Boyle. On the other hand, the direct proportionalities
between V and T (at constant p and n), and p and T (at constant V and n) were defined to be true by
Jacques Charles and Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac. Similarly, Amedeo Avogadro concluded in his
experiments that n is directly proportional to V at constant p and T. These laws, however, are only
true only as p approaches 0. These laws therefore are called limiting laws because they are only true
in a certain limit (that is, when p approaches 0).

Equations
The most vital equation used in this experiment is the formula for computing the gas density which
is derived from the perfect gas equation. Since n (number of moles) can be expressed as the ratio
between the mass and the molar mass of the gas, then, a mass to volume ratio can be isolated to
compute for the density of the gas. The gas density equation therefore is:

gV-1=pMR-1T-1 (Eq. 3: Equation of State of a Perfect Gas, with n expressed in g/M)

Also, a derived equation based on the perfect gas equation of state is given as:

p1m2=p2m1 (Eq. 4: mass-pressure relationship of two gases)

Methodology
The methodology of the experiment is a straightforward application of the gas density formula that
is derived from the perfect gas equation of state. In the experiment, the mass of the gas inside a gas
bulb is measured, then its pressure is measured by the manometer. To get the density of the gas
inside the bulb, the mass of the gas is then divided by the volume of the bulb. This volume is
obtained by filling up the bulb with water, and then its mass is divided by the density of water at the
specified temperature. Then, the calculated density is used to obtain the molar mass of the gas
sample.

Assumptions
Several assumptions have been made in this experiment. First, it is assumed that when the gas bulb
is opened to load the gas inside, it will only contain the gas needed. In other words, no
contamination of other gases happened. Second, it is assumed that when the bulb is disconnected to
the manometer, the air trapped inside the tubing went completely inside the bulb and the pressure
reading gives out the value of the combined gas of the bulb and the air inside the tubing of the
manometer. This assumption was made so that the relationship of pressure and mass of the gas can
be established to obey Eq. 4. Lastly, it is assumed that the bulb is completely sealed or does not
promote leakage of the gas sample.

Results and Discussion

Pressure vs MW Graph for Oxygen Gas Pressure vs MW Graph for Wet Air

28.00 25.80
27.00 25.60
26.00
25.40
25.00
25.20
24.00
25.00
23.00
0.0000 0.2000 0.4000 0.6000 0.8000 1.0000
0.0000 0.5000 1.0000

Based on the graphs obtained, it can be seen that it is difficult to extrapolate for the molecular
weight of the gas at zero pressure because the graph is not linear. Also, the molecular weight
obtained (see tables in first page) do not agree with the molecular weight of oxygen gas (18.80%
error). Moreover, the calculated molar weight of the wet air is comparable to that of the oxygen gas
which is seemingly erroneous. However, the obtained molar mass of the dry air is quite logical in a
sense that it is near the molar mass of the nitrogen gas, which is about 28 g/mol. This is a
reasonable judgement (that is within experimental error) since the air is 75% Nitrogen.

Errors and their sources

One source of error might come from the process of loading the gas inside the bulb. Since the tube
is not directly connected to the bulb to avoid pressure build-up, air might possibly enter the valve of
the gas bulb. Also, it has been observed that the mass of the gas inside the bulb increases indefinitely
over time. This might be due to the air entering inside the bulb since air is relatively lighter than the
oxygen.

But, it should also be taken into consideration that the underlying mathematical concept in this
experiment assumes that the gas is perfect. However, the gas studied is not perfect, and therefore, it
is not already surprising to find out that deviations from expected results might occur.
Applications
A possible application of the theories found in this experiment can be very beneficial in systems
involving mixtures of gases. Also, This experiment provides a new way of finding the density of a
gas in terms of the physical properties involved in its equation of state.

Conclusions
In this experiment, it is very evident that the density of a gas can be computed by using the perfect
gas equation of state. Also, the gas density that can be obtained from that calculation can be verified
by computing for that gas’ molecular weight given that the identity of the gas is known. Moreover,
the methodology presented here can be tweaked to help us measure properties involved in a system
of mixed gases. But this experiment can be prone to errors if some properties aren’t controlled in
such a way that it will not greatly change the results from the ideal values that it should attain.

Calculations

Calculating for Prec (Recorded Pressure)

Prec=Patm-h; where Patm=752.75 mmHg and h=difference in mercury levels

Calculating for Pgas (Gas Pressure)

Pgas*mafter=Prec*mgas; where mafter=mass after disconnecting the bulb from manometer,
mgas=mass of the gas (initial weighing before connecting it in the manometer) and Prec is the
recorded pressure

Calculating for mgas/vol (Gas Density)

gas density=mgas/vol; where mgas is the mass of the gas inside the bulb and vol=volume occupied
by water inside the bulb at 27.5 deg Celsius

Calculating for molar mass of the gas (see Equation 3).

Calculating for the partial pressure of the dry air

density of humid air=(partial pressure of dry air/Rd*T)+(partial pressure of water vapor/Rv*T);
where density of humid air is in kg/cubic meters, partial pressures in Pascals, Rd=287.05 J/kg*K,
Rv=461.495 J/kg*K, and T=temperature in Kelvin. Just plug in the values then compute/isolate
partial pressure of dry air.

Calculating for partial pressure of water vapor

partial pressure of water vapor=0.80*VP; where VP is the vapor saturation pressure at 27.5 deg
Celsius

Calculating for molecular weight of dry air=

(masswet*0.970773829)/((pressuredry/pressurewet)*(masswet/molecularweightwet))

References
Vapor Saturation Pressure. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/relative-humidity-air-d_687.html
Calculating Air Density. https://www.brisbanehotairballooning.com.au/faqs/education/116-calculate-
air-density.html