Can someone tell me what steps i need to take? So confused on how to solve this
An average human adult takes about 15breaths per min and exhales 23ml of co2 with each breath. If your trapped in a cave with pressure .963atm and 11C and your only source of oxygen is a breathing device containing 1kg of KO2 , how long do you have to live?
4 KO2 + 2 CO2 -> 2 K2CO3 + 3 O2
Nvm, i finally got it :)
To determine how long you have to live in this scenario, we need to calculate the amount of oxygen produced by the reaction between KO2 and CO2. Here are the steps to solve it:
1. Calculate the number of moles of CO2 exhaled per minute:
- Multiply the volume of CO2 exhaled per breath (23 ml) by the number of breaths per minute (15) to obtain the volume of CO2 exhaled in one minute.
- Convert the volume of CO2 to moles by dividing by the molar volume of CO2 at the given conditions. The molar volume can be calculated using the ideal gas law, PV = nRT, where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles, R is the gas constant, and T is the temperature.
2. Use the balanced chemical equation to determine the number of moles of KO2 needed to react with the moles of CO2:
- According to the equation, 4 moles of KO2 react with 2 moles of CO2 to produce 3 moles of O2.
3. Calculate the number of moles of oxygen produced:
- Use the stoichiometry of the reaction to determine the number of moles of O2 produced from the moles of CO2.
4. Convert the moles of O2 to volume:
- Multiply the moles of O2 by the molar volume of O2 at the given conditions to obtain the volume of O2 produced.
5. Divide the available mass of KO2 (1 kg) by the mass of KO2 needed to produce the volume of O2 calculated in step 4:
- Determine the molar mass of KO2, and then calculate the number of moles of KO2 using the given mass.
- Use the stoichiometry (from the balanced equation) to determine the moles of O2 produced from the moles of KO2.
6. Finally, divide the volume of O2 produced by the volume of oxygen consumed per minute to determine how long the available oxygen will last.
It's important to note that the above steps assume that all the oxygen produced is available for breathing and that no other factors, such as the harmful effects of CO2 or any other physiological limitations, are considered.
Please note that without the values for pressure and temperature, it's not possible to provide an exact calculation.