Density of air at one atmosphere pressure

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the density of air at one atmosphere of pressure, specifically considering the ideal gas law and the implications of dealing with a mixture of gases. Participants are exploring how to derive the density expression and whether the question's wording is appropriate.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to manipulate the ideal gas equation to find a density expression but questions its applicability to mixtures of gases. Some participants suggest using a mixing rule for calculating the density of gas mixtures and discuss the importance of knowing the composition of the gases involved.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, offering guidance on using LaTeX for clarity in formula presentation. There is a suggestion to calculate the average molar mass of the gas mixture, and while some questions about the problem's wording have been raised, there is no explicit consensus on the approach to take.

Contextual Notes

There is a discussion about whether the percentages of gases in the mixture are by volume or mass, which is crucial for applying the correct mixing rule. The original poster also questions the phrasing of the problem statement regarding the conditions for determining density.

Bolter
Messages
262
Reaction score
31
Homework Statement
Calculate the density of air
Relevant Equations
PV = nRT
How would I tackle a problem like this?

Screenshot 2019-12-22 at 22.23.55.png

I made a start by writing down the ideal gas equation and then done some manipulation on both sides to get the density expression of the ideal gas.
I'm not sure if this is what the question wants as I'm dealing with 2 different types of gases in the same atmosphere.
My density formula that I have obtained only applies to find the density of one type of gas?

IMG_3547.JPG


Also is there a typo in the question itself? Should it read "Determine the density of air at 25 degrees at one atmosphere pressure" instead of "Determine the density of air at 25 degrees and one atmosphere pressure"?

Any help would be grateful!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Hello again !

We recommend you learn some ##\LaTeX## to post formulas. It's compact, fairly easy:
$$ pv = nRT $$ becomes $$pV = nRT$$ and ## d = \frac {pM_m}{RT} ## becomes ##d = \frac {pM_m}{RT} ##

SInce ##M_m## (the molar mass) is different for each gas: yes, as written yuor expression works for single-composnent gases. For mixtures you need a mixing rule. FOr that you need to know whether the percentages given are by volume or by mass ...
A little googling establishes that the percentages are mol based, i.e. volume.
So the mixing rule is pretty straightforward, right ?

And you can always check the result with that same search engine...

Bolter said:
Also is there a typo in the question itself?
No typo: the text sums up the conditions, so the word 'and' is appropriate.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: berkeman
BvU said:
Hello again !

We recommend you learn some ##\LaTeX## to post formulas. It's compact, fairly easy:
$$ pv = nRT $$ becomes $$pV = nRT$$ and ## d = \frac {pM_m}{RT} ## becomes ##d = \frac {pM_m}{RT} ##

SInce ##M_m## (the molar mass) is different for each gas: yes, as written yuor expression works for single-composnent gases. For mixtures you need a mixing rule. FOr that you need to know whether the percentages given are by volume or by mass ...
A little googling establishes that the percentages are mol based, i.e. volume.
So the mixing rule is pretty straightforward, right ?

And you can always check the result with that same search engine...

No typo: the text sums up the conditions, so the word 'and' is appropriate.

Are you suggesting that I work out the average molar mass of the mixture? So to do that I take the sum of the mole fractions of each gas multiplied by the molar mass of that gas.
And from that, I substitute that average molar mass value into the density expression that I got prior.

IMG_3550.JPG


And thanks I will definitely have a look into the LaTex guide page so I can start using them on the threads
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Chestermiller
Seems a bit heavy to me ... :smile:
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
8
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
4K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
6K
Replies
24
Views
3K