Home >
Community >
A flask contains 500 cm^3 of SO2 at STP. What does the flask contain?
Upvote
29
Downvote
+ Physical chemistry
+ Thermodynamics
+ Chemistry
+ Physics
Posted by
Manda905
A flask contains 500 cm^3 of SO2 at STP. What does the flask contain?
Looks like a homework question. Kind of a vague question - it would be clearer if they simply asked “how many grams of sulfur dioxide are in the flask?” But also a good question in that it draws on two really key concepts you will need to pass any test.
The first concept is that the volume of 1 mole of ANY gas will be 22.4 liters at STP. Now, you don’t have 22.4 liters. You only have 0.500 liters. What fraction of 22.4 liters do you have? What fraction of a mole do you have?
The other key concept is that a mole of any substance is its molecular weight expressed in grams. if I tell you that the atomic weight of oxygen is 16 and the atomic weight of sulfur is 32, you can calculate the molecular weight of SO2 in your head. How much does 1 mole of SO2 weigh?
You don’t have 1 mole of SO2. You only have the fraction of a mole you calculated above. How much does that fraction of a mole weigh?
You can also get this answer by mindlessly applying the Ideal Gas Law. But if you want understanding, this is the way to go.
Looks like a homework question. Kind of a vague question - it would be clearer if they simply asked “how many grams of sulfur dioxide are in the flask?” But also a good question in that it draws on two really key concepts you will need to pass any test.
The first concept is that the volume of 1 mole of ANY gas will be 22.4 liters at STP. Now, you don’t have 22.4 liters. You only have 0.500 liters. What fraction of 22.4 liters do you have? What fraction of a mole do you have?
The other key concept is that a mole of any substance is its molecular weight expressed in grams. if I tell you that the atomic weight of oxygen is 16 and the atomic weight of sulfur is 32, you can calculate the molecular weight of SO2 in your head. How much does 1 mole of SO2 weigh?
You don’t have 1 mole of SO2. You only have the fraction of a mole you calculated above. How much does that fraction of a mole weigh?
You can also get this answer by mindlessly applying the Ideal Gas Law. But if you want understanding, this is the way to go.
Looks like a homework question. Kind of a vague question - it would be clearer if they simply asked “how many grams of sulfur dioxide are in the flask?” But also a good question in that it draws on two really key concepts you will need to pass any test.
The first concept is that the volume of 1 mole of ANY gas will be 22.4 liters at STP. Now, you don’t have 22.4 liters. You only have 0.500 liters. What fraction of 22.4 liters do you have? What fraction of a mole do you have?
The other key concept is that a mole of any substance is its molecular weight expressed in grams. if I tell you that the atomic weight of oxygen is 16 and the atomic weight of sulfur is 32, you can calculate the molecular weight of SO2 in your head. How much does 1 mole of SO2 weigh?
You don’t have 1 mole of SO2. You only have the fraction of a mole you calculated above. How much does that fraction of a mole weigh?
You can also get this answer by mindlessly applying the Ideal Gas Law. But if you want understanding, this is the way to go.
Looks like a homework question. Kind of a vague question - it would be clearer if they simply asked “how many grams of sulfur dioxide are in the flask?” But also a good question in that it draws on two really key concepts you will need to pass any test.
The first concept is that the volume of 1 mole of ANY gas will be 22.4 liters at STP. Now, you don’t have 22.4 liters. You only have 0.500 liters. What fraction of 22.4 liters do you have? What fraction of a mole do you have?
The other key concept is that a mole of any substance is its molecular weight expressed in grams. if I tell you that the atomic weight of oxygen is 16 and the atomic weight of sulfur is 32, you can calculate the molecular weight of SO2 in your head. How much does 1 mole of SO2 weigh?
You don’t have 1 mole of SO2. You only have the fraction of a mole you calculated above. How much does that fraction of a mole weigh?
You can also get this answer by mindlessly applying the Ideal Gas Law. But if you want understanding, this is the way to go.
More
VOTE