0.37 moles of xenon gas (Xe) are captured in a 1.0-L container at 25 degrees celcius. Given the van der Waals constants for Xe, calculate the pressure of Xe gas inside the container?
Isn't this just a look up the constants, plug into the equation, and solve? What are you having trouble with?
To calculate the pressure of xenon gas (Xe) inside the container, we can use the van der Waals equation:
\[P = \frac{{RT}}{{V - b}} - \frac{{a}}{{V^2}}\]
Where:
P = pressure of the gas (in atm)
R = ideal gas constant (0.0821 L·atm/(mol·K))
T = temperature (in Kelvin)
V = volume of the container (in liters)
a and b = van der Waals constants specific to each gas
Given:
moles of xenon gas (Xe) = 0.37 moles
volume of the container = 1.0 L
temperature = 25 degrees Celsius = 25 + 273 = 298 K
Now we need to determine the values of 'a' and 'b' for xenon gas (Xe). The van der Waals constants for Xe are:
a = 4.16 L^2·atm/(mol^2)
b = 0.052 L/mol
Now we can substitute these values into the van der Waals equation and solve for P:
\[P = \frac{{RT}}{{V - b}} - \frac{{a}}{{V^2}}\]
\[P = \frac{{(0.0821\,L\cdot atm/(mol\cdot K))(298\,K)}}{{1.0\,L - 0.052\,L}} - \frac{{4.16\,L^2\cdot atm/(mol^2)}}{{(1.0\,L)^2}}\]
Calculating this expression will give us the pressure of xenon gas (Xe) inside the container.