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Finding the Molar Mass Difference Between Carbon Dioxide and Air

Finding the Molar Mass Difference Between Carbon Dioxide and Air
Contributors
Beyond Benign
Beyond Benign, Inc.
Dean Campbell
Professor | Bradley University
Learning Objets
Summary
The molar mass of an ideal gas is directly proportional to its density. This property has long been used in laboratory experiments in which a flask is filled with the vapor of a volatile liquid, and the mass, volume, temperature, and pressure of the vapor are used to find the molar mass of that vapor. In a related approach, the difference in the mass between a sample of carbon dioxide and a sample of air with the same volume, temperature, and pressure can be used to find the difference between the molar mass of the two gases. Using a balance, the mass of a flask filled with carbon dioxide gas sublimed from dry ice can be compared to the same flask filled with air to estimate the difference in molar mass between the gas systems.
Keywords
Gases
Mole

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Moderation state
Published
Object Type
Laboratory experiment
Audience
High School (Secondary School)
Introductory Undergraduate
Published on
Green Chemistry Principles
Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
Design for Energy Efficiency
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Quality Education
Learning Goals/Student Objectives
In performing this experiment, a student will…
● Operate the laboratory equipment such as balances
● Apply gas law principles
● Consider the Principles of Green Chemistry in the design of these experiments
Common pedagogies covered
Hands-on learning
Time required (if applicable)
One 3-hour lab session: likely less time.

Submitted by

Dean Campbell
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
Chemicals and their CAS numbers.
Dry ice (carbon dioxide) 124-38-9

Precautions, including proper personal protective equipment such as goggles and gloves, should be used when working with experiments. There is always a chance glass could break from thermal shock. Always wash your hands after completing the experiments and demonstrations.
Teacher Recommendations or Piloting Data (if available)
Described in the attached file.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.59877/RZFU7280

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)
greener_molar-mass-gas_final_231001.docx
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.