Chem+Physics: Solving the Piston Puzzle

[prinzessin04]

this is my webassign question for this week but I'm a little confused about the first part...
for part a) shouldn't the ratio just be 1 to 1, since the piston is exactly in the center?? or did i understand that wrong? I'm not all that great at chem especially when it comes to chem and physics together...


A cylinder closed at both ends has a piston in between that is free to slide. At 22°C, the piston is exactly in the center when hydrogen gas is in one end and helium in the other.

(a) What is the ratio of the number of hydrogen molecules to the number of helium molecules?


(b) Where will the piston be if the temperature is raised to 59°C?
the choices:
in the same place
0.22 L to the left
0.44 L to the right
0.22 L to the right
0.44 L to the left


for part a) shouldn't the ratio just be 1 to 1, since the piston is exactly in the center?? or did i understand that wrong? I'm not all that great at chem especially when it comes to chem and physics together...

 

[Chi Meson]

PV=NkT

If the piston is in the center, and it doesn't move, then pressures on both sides are equal. What else must be equal? V? T? N? (yup, yup, yup).

Sometimes it's the simple ones that seem so hard.

Part b) should be easy now.

 

[prinzessin04]

thanks, i just figured the question was trying to trick me like they usually do...