Avogadro's Law & Composition of Air: A Doubt/Misconception

In summary, the gas composition in a room with 5 liters of nitrogen and oxygen would be as follows: nitrogen 78% by volume, oxygen 21% by volume.
  • #1
UchihaClan13
145
12
Guys I have a doubt or rather a misconception
It is as follows:
Consider a container with a partition having a gas A occupying 2/3rd of the volume and gas B occupying 1/3 rd of the volume
Now suppose we remove the partition .As a result,gas A will occupy the whole volume of the container and gas B will also occupy the whole volume of the container(since the gas molecules are far apart and it doesn't matter if molecules of different gases collide as the size of the molecules is considered negligible)
Now gas A and gas B should not contain the same number of molecules(since gas A occupied more space and gas B less)
But doesn't this contradict avogadro's law
That equal volumes of gases will contain an equal number of molecules??
And how will you explain the composition of air by this way
Like if the amount of air present in a room is say 5 litres
The amount of nitrogen and oxygen should also be 5 litres (the volume of the room)
So how does the composition of air (nitrogen 78% by volume and oxygen 21% by volume make sense??)
I might have overlooked some things
But I would be extremely grateful if those things are brought to my notice
Help is much appreciated!:)
 
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  • #2
What is meant by "the volume occupied by a gas" is the partial volume. If you have 5 l of air, the volume of nitrogen is 3.9 l and the volume of oxygen is 1.1 l.
 
  • #3
Avogadros law states that gasses occupy the same volume under the same pressure. In the case of mixtures you have to use partial pressure, instead.
In your example partial pressure of A is ##p_A=2/3 p## and of B is ##p_B=1/3 p##. Then ##n_A=p_AV/RT## and ##n_b=p_BV/RT##.
 
  • #4
But if there is a container with a capacity of 5 litres which has air In it
Won't nitrogen and oxygen being gases occupy the entire space of 5 litres(although their amounts/molar concentrations)might be different
 
  • #5
DrDu said:
Avogadros law states that gasses occupy the same volume under the same pressure. In the case of mixtures you have to use partial pressure, instead.
In your example partial pressure of A is pA=2/3pp_A=2/3 p and of B is pB=1/3pp_B=1/3 p. Then nA=pAV/RTn_A=p_AV/RT and nb=pBV/RTn_b=p_BV/RT.
That's fine
But my doubt is if both nitrogen and oxygen are able to occupy 5 litres so how is their volume composition different??
 
  • #6
I've never understood why the terminology 79% by volume and 21% by volume is used, but, whenever I see it, I automatically substitute in my mind the words "mole percentage."
 
  • #7
Imagine a cylinder with a thin, movable piston, separating both gases. One gas occupies some volume, the other occupies some other volume (as the piston can move pressures are identical on both sides). Now, remove the piston. Gases mix, and their partial pressures become lower than they were before, each one occupies whole volume now - but as these are in many aspects equivalent systems, for many applications we can still report the situation as if both gases occupied their initial volumes.
 

1. What is Avogadro's Law?

Avogadro's Law states that, at a constant temperature and pressure, equal volumes of gases contain equal numbers of molecules. This means that the number of molecules in a gas is directly proportional to its volume.

2. How does Avogadro's Law relate to the composition of air?

Avogadro's Law is one of the fundamental principles of gas behavior and applies to all gases, including the components of air. This means that the volume of each gas in a given volume of air is proportional to the number of molecules of that gas.

3. Is the composition of air constant?

No, the composition of air is not constant. While the major components of air (nitrogen, oxygen, and argon) remain relatively consistent, there are also trace gases and variable amounts of water vapor, which can change the composition of air.

4. Why is it a common misconception that air is mostly oxygen?

This misconception likely stems from the fact that oxygen is the most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, making up about 21% of air by volume. However, when considering the entire composition of air, oxygen is only a small percentage compared to other gases such as nitrogen and argon.

5. How does Avogadro's Law impact our understanding of air pollution?

Avogadro's Law helps us understand the behavior of gases in our atmosphere, including pollutants. As the number of gas molecules increases, so does the volume they occupy, leading to higher concentrations of pollutants. This understanding is crucial in monitoring and mitigating air pollution.

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