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skate_nerd
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Homework Statement
Doing a lab here, but were kind of stuck. This lab is meant to experiment the formula PV=nRT, and the set up is a canister of CO^2 with a fixed volume that has a pressure sensor connected to it reading in pascals. We heat up the CO^2 by placing the canister in a beaker of boiling water and then slowly cool the water and take measurements until it reaches 0 degrees celsius. These results were placed in an excel spreadsheet to make a graph of P vs V, and this is used to extrapolate the value for absolute zero in celsius. Our answer was -302.9 which is obviously off from -273.15.
QUESTION:
Suppose the trapped air were contaminated with water vapor. How would this affect the P vs V graph? Do you see any such effect?
Homework Equations
PV=nRT
The Attempt at a Solution
We think the answer is yes and this is our source of the discrepancy, but we aren't sure. If the water vapor did contaminate the air, would that increase n in moles in the formula PV=nRT to make our graph offset too low like it did?