It turns out that the van der Waals constant b
equals four times the total volume actually occupied by the molecules of a mole of gas. Calculate the fraction of the volume in a container actually occupied by Ar
atoms (b
= 0.0322 L/mol
):
at STP
To calculate the fraction of the volume actually occupied by Ar atoms at STP (Standard Temperature and Pressure), we need to first determine the total volume occupied by the Ar atoms and then compare it to the total volume of the container.
At STP, the volume occupied by 1 mole of gas is 22.4 L.
Given that the van der Waals constant b = 0.0322 L/mol, and it equals four times the total volume actually occupied by the molecules of a mole of gas, we can calculate the actual volume occupied by Ar atoms as follows:
Total volume occupied by Ar = b/4
Total volume occupied by Ar = 0.0322/4
Total volume occupied by Ar = 0.00805 L/mol
Now, to calculate the fraction of the volume actually occupied by Ar atoms, we divide the volume occupied by Ar by the total volume of the container:
Fraction = Volume occupied by Ar / Total volume of container
Fraction = 0.00805 / 22.4
Fraction = 0.000359
Therefore, the fraction of the volume in a container actually occupied by Ar atoms at STP is 0.000359, or approximately 0.04%.