Balloon X is filled with the carbon monoxide. Balloon Y is filled to the same volume with carbon dioxide. The balloons are left for several days in a room at constant temperature. Which balloon would you expect to be smallest after this period of time?
Well, if I had to guess, I'd say neither of them. Why? Because balloons have a tendency to pop when filled with gases like carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. So, instead of focusing on which one would be smaller, we might have to focus on which one would have more cleaning up to do. So, I hope you have a good broom to sweep up those balloon fragments!
When comparing the size of the two balloons after being left in a room at constant temperature for several days, we need to consider the properties of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Carbon monoxide has a molecular weight of 28 g/mol, while carbon dioxide has a molecular weight of 44 g/mol. This means that carbon dioxide molecules are larger and more massive than carbon monoxide molecules.
Given that the balloons are filled to the same volume initially, the larger and more massive carbon dioxide molecules would tend to occupy more space and exert more pressure on the balloon walls compared to carbon monoxide.
As a result, we would expect Balloon Y, filled with carbon dioxide, to be smallest after this period of time. The larger and more massive carbon dioxide molecules are likely to exert greater pressure on the balloon walls, causing it to shrink more than Balloon X, which is filled with carbon monoxide.
To determine which balloon would be the smallest after being left in a room at constant temperature, we need to consider the properties of the gases inside the balloons.
First, let's look at the molar masses of both carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2):
- Carbon monoxide (CO) has a molar mass of approximately 28 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon + 16 g/mol for oxygen).
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) has a molar mass of approximately 44 g/mol (12 g/mol for carbon + 16 g/mol for each oxygen atom).
Next, let's consider the ideal gas law, which states that the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its molar mass if the pressure and temperature are constant. This implies that gases with lower molar masses will occupy more space at a given temperature and pressure.
Since the molar mass of carbon monoxide (CO) is lower than that of carbon dioxide (CO2), we can conclude that carbon monoxide would occupy more space (expand) compared to carbon dioxide under the same conditions.
Therefore, after being left in a room at constant temperature, we would expect Balloon X (filled with carbon monoxide) to be the largest, and Balloon Y (filled with carbon dioxide) to be smaller in size compared to Balloon X.