GAS STOICHIOMETRY MATH

As you know from the Mols, percents, and stoichiometry section, stoichiometry is the calculation of
an unknown material in a chemical reaction from the information given about another of the materials
in the same chemical reaction. What if either the given material or the material you are asked to find
is a gas? In stoichiometry you need to know the amount of one material. For gases not at STP, you
must know the pressure, temperature, and volume to know the amount of material given. If you are
given a gas not at STP, you will be able to substitute P V = n R T for the given side and plug it
directly into the mols place by solving the equation for 'n'. Here is a sample problem using a gas not at
STP as the given.

What mass of ammonia would you get from enough nitrogen with 689 liters of hydrogen gas at 350C
and 4587 mmHg?,

Given: 689 l H2 = V T = 350C + 273 = 623K P = 4587 mmHg (change to Atm)

Notice we have all three of the bits of data to know the amount of hydrogen.

Find: Mass (m) of NH3

3 H2 + N2 2 NH3

The outline plan of direction from the stoichiometry roadmap is:

(gas laws) (mols given) (mol ratio) (formula weight find) (mass find)

The ideal gas law ( P v = n R T ) must be solved for 'n' so it can be used as the 'given' of the outline.

PV mols NH3 Fw NH3

( RT )( mols H2 )( mols NH3 )= ammonia mass
given mol ratio Fw find mass find

Things are a bit different when you need to find the volume, pressure, or temperature of a gas not at
STP. You will need to solve P V = n R T for the dimension you need to find and attach it to the end of
the sequence using the roadmap to find 'n' for the gas. Let's take another problem based on the same
chemical equation to explore how to set up finding a gas not at STP.

What volume of ammonia at 7.8 atmospheres and 265C would you get from 533 grams of nitrogen?

Given: m H2 = 533 g (Now hydrogen is the known material.)

Find: Volume of ammonia at P = 7.8 Atm and T = 265C + 273 = 538K

The outline plan is now: (mass given) (Fw given) (mols given) (mol ratio) (gas laws)

mass of H2 mols H2 mols NH3

( 1 )( Fw of H2 )( mols H2 )= mols of ammonia
given Fw given mol ratio mols find

Now the result of the stoichiometry is the number of mols of ammonia, 'n' in the ideal gas formula.
We solve for the volume we want to find.
V = n R T/P and insert the numbers with 'n' coming from the stoichiometry, or we can tack ( RT/P )
onto the end of the stoichiometry.

mass of H2 mols H2 mols NH3 RT

( 1 )( Fw of H2 )( mols H2 )( P )= V of NH3
given Fw given mol ratio gas law volume

AVOGADRO'S LAW

There is even more we can do with good old P V = n R T. The first part of this section introduced you
to Avogadro's Law. One mole of any gas takes up a volume of 22.4 liters at standard temperature and
pressure (STP). If we go back to the comparison of two formulas of the Ideal Gas Law, we have:

P1 V1 = n1 R T1
P2 V2 = n2 R T2

The R's are the same, so they can be cancelled. At standard temperature, T1 = T2 = 273K, and the T's
can be cancelled. At standard pressure, P1 = P2 = 1 atmosphere, and the P's can be cancelled. When
all the canceling has been done,

V1 = n1
V2 n2

If the volume is proportional to the number of mols of a gas, there is a constant, k, that we can use in
the formula, V = k n, to express the proportionality of V and n. What is that proportionality constant?
At standard temperature and pressure, the pressure is one atmosphere and the temperature is 273K.
The Universal Gas Constant is still 0.0821 Liter - atmospheres per mol - degree. Let's set n at one to
find out what k is.

P V = n R T and V = n R T/P

V = (1 mol) (0.0821 L - A/ mol - K) (237 K) / (1 A)

Cancel the mols, the A's (for Atmosphere) and the K's. Do the math.

V = 22.4 Liters

We have seen this number before in Avogadro's Law, and this is where it comes from. When n is one
mol and V is 22.4 Liters, k is 22.4 Liters/mol.

GAS LAW MATH PROBLEMS

You may consider most of these given numbers as good for three significant digits.

1. Helium takes up 5.71 liters at OC and 3.95 atmospheres. What is the volume of the same helium at
32F and 800 mmHg?

2. 257 mL of oxygen in a gas tube goes from 17C to 42C from being out in the sun. The pressure in
the tube is 39 #/in2, but it does not change as the temperature increases. What is the volume of the
tube after it has heated?
3. An enormous (57,400 cubic meter) expandable helium balloon at 22C is heated up by a fire under
it and the action of the sun on the dark plastic covering on top. There will be a small increase in
pressure from 785 mmHg to 790 mmHg, but the major effect wanted is an increase in volume so the
balloon can lift its cargo. To what temperature must the balloon get in order to fill out to 60,500 cubic
meters?

4. What volume of air at standard pressure gets packed into an 11 ft 3 SCUBA tank at the same
temperature at 15.8 atmospheres?

5. Air is 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen. What is the mass of air in an automobile tire of 19.7 L and
internal pressure of 46.7 PSI at 24C? (That pressure is the same as the 32 PSI difference you usually
measure as the tire pressure 32 PSI + 14.7 PSI. You will have to use a weighted average for the molar
mass of air.)

6. A constant pressure tank of gas at 1.01 Atm has propane in it at 15C when it is at 255 cubic meters.
What is its volume at 48C?

7. A SCUBA tank is filled with air at 16.7 Atm at 24C, but someone leaves it out in the sun to warm
to 65C. What is the tank pressure?

8. The usual partial pressure of oxygen that people get at sea level is 0.20 Atm., that is, a fifth of the
usual sea level air pressure. People used to 1 Atm. air pressure begin to become "light-headed" at
about 0.10 Atm oxygen. As a rule of thumb, the air pressure decreases one inch of mercury each
thousand feet of altitude above sea level. At what altitude should airplane cabins be pressurized? Up
to about what altitude should you be able to use unpressurized pure oxygen? (Express your answer in
feet above Mean Sea Level, or MSL.)

9. Which diffuses faster, the bad smell from a cat-pan due to ammonia or an expensive French
perfume with an average molecular weight of 170 g/mol? How much faster does the faster one
diffuse?

10. What is the mass of neon in a 625 mL neon tube at 357 mmHg & 25C?

11. What is the mass of 15 liters of chlorine gas at STP?

12. How many liters of ammonia at STP are produced when 10 g of hydrogen is combined with
nitrogen?

13. How many milliliters of hydrogen at 0C and 1400 mmHg are produced if 15g of magnesium
reacts with sulfuric acid?

14. What is the mass of 25 liters of fluorine gas at 2.85 atm, 450C?

15. A nine liter tank has 150 atmospheres of bromine in it at 27C. What is the added mass of the tank
due to the gas?

16. A 250 Kg tank of liquid butane (C4H1O) burns to produce carbon dioxide at 120C. What volume
of carbon dioxide is produced at 1 Atm?

17. How many liters of product at 950 mmHg and OC is produced by the burning of three liters of
acetylene (C2H2) at 5 atm and 20C?
18. Five grams of octane (C8H18) and enough oxygen to burn it are in an automobile cylinder
compressed to 20 atm at 28C. The mixture explodes and heats the cylinder to 150C. What is the
pressure in the (same sized) cylinder after the explosion?

19. If 0.515g of magnesium is added to HCl, it makes hydrogen gas and magnesium chloride. The
hydrogen is collected at 23C and 735mmHg. What is the volume of hydrogen?

20. What is the mass of 150 liters of propane gas (C3H8) at 37C and 245 inHg?

21. Isopropyl alcohol, C3H7OH, makes a good fuel for cars. What volume of oxygen at 735 mmHg
and 23C is needed to burn one kilogram of isopropyl alcohol?

22. What volume does 4 Kg of nitrogen gas take up at 27C and 3 atm?

23. The dirigible Hindenburg had 3.7E6 m3 of hydrogen in its gas bags at 1.1 atm and 7C. What was
the weight of the hydrogen in pounds?

ANSWERS TO GAS LAW MATH PROBLEMS

1. 21.4 L 2. 279 ml 3. 39.9C 4. 174 ft 3

5. 73.9 g 6. 284 cubic meters 7. 19.0 Atm 8a. 15,000 ft. MSL

8b. 27,000 ft. MSL 9. Ammonia diffuses 3.16 times faster (Wouldn't you KNOW it?)

10. 0.242 g 11. 47.5 g 12. 74.7 L 13. 7.51 L

14. 45.6 g 15. 8.76 Kg 16. 5.56 E5 L 17. 33.5 L

18. 35.4 Atm. 19. 532 ml 20. 2.12 Kg 21. 209 KL