If your partner did not take into account the vapor pressure of water when calculating the moles of hydrogen produced, would the mass of Mg that was calculated at the end of the experiment be too high or too low? Why?

If your partner did not consider the vapor pressure of water in their calculations, the mass of Mg calculated at the end of the experiment would be too high.

To understand why, let's break it down:

1. The reaction involved in this experiment is between magnesium (Mg) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), producing hydrogen gas (H2) and magnesium chloride (MgCl2):

Mg + 2HCl -> MgCl2 + H2

2. The amount of hydrogen gas formed (moles of H2) can be determined from the stoichiometry of the reaction, which is based on a balanced chemical equation.

3. When magnesium reacts with hydrochloric acid, the reaction occurs in an aqueous environment, meaning there is water present.

4. The vapor pressure of water is the pressure exerted by water vapor molecules in equilibrium with liquid water at a particular temperature. In this case, it refers to the pressure exerted by the water molecules in the solution.

5. This vapor pressure affects the overall pressure of the system and should be taken into account when calculating the moles of hydrogen produced. The total pressure in the reaction vessel is equal to the pressures of all the gases present, including water vapor and hydrogen gas.

6. If the vapor pressure of water is not considered, the total pressure in the reaction vessel would be underestimated, leading to an overestimation of the moles of hydrogen produced.

7. The number of moles of hydrogen gas formed is directly proportional to the moles of magnesium that reacted. In other words, an overestimation of moles of H2 would lead to an overestimation of moles of Mg.

8. According to the molar mass of Mg, an overestimation of moles of Mg would result in a mass of Mg calculated at the end of the experiment that is too high.

Therefore, if your partner did not consider the vapor pressure of water when calculating the moles of hydrogen produced, the mass of magnesium (Mg) calculated at the end of the experiment would be too high.

low