Equilibrium pressure of calcium carbonate

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the equilibrium pressure of calcium carbonate's crystalline forms, calcite and aragonite, at 25°C. The transition enthalpy (ΔH°) is given as +1.04 kJ·mol-1, with respective densities of 2.710 g·cm-3 for calcite and 2.930 g·cm-3 for aragonite. Participants explore the molar volumes of each phase and apply thermodynamic equations to derive the equilibrium pressure. A participant calculates a pressure value of 376 J/cm^3 but struggles with unit conversion to match the expected answer of 3850.9. Clarifications on unit systems and conversions highlight the importance of consistency in calculations.
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Homework Statement


Calcium carbonate primarily occurs as two crystalline forms, calcite and aragonite. The value of∆!° for the transition
CaCO3(calcite) ⇌ CaCO3(aragonite)
is +1.04 kJ·mol-1 at 25°C. At that temperature the density for calcite is 2.710 g·cm-3, and that of aragonite is 2.930 g·cm-3. At what pressure will the two crystalline phases be at equilibrium at 25°C?

Homework Equations


ln(ai)= ((molar V)/RT) * (P-1)
ΔG = -RT * ln(Kp
Kp = aaragonite/acalcite

The Attempt at a Solution


So I started by finding the molar volume of each by dividing the MW by the individual density and got
Vara = 34.157 cm^3/mol and
Vcal = 36.930 cm^3/ mol
From here I used the activity equation to get that

ai = e^(((molar V)/RT) * (P-1)))

And since

Kp = aaragonite/acalcite and
ΔG = -RT * ln(Kp

I can write that

ΔG = -RT * ln(aaragonite/acalcite)

This leads to

ΔG = -RT * (((molar Vara/RT) * (P-1) - ((molar Vcal/RT)*(P-1))
Or
ΔG = - molar Vara*(P-1)+(molar Vcal*(P-1))

Continuing
1040 J/mol =(-34.157 cm^3/mol ) * P + 34.157 cm^3/mol +(36.930 cm^3/mol) * P - 39.630 cm^3/mol

Solving for P I get 376 J/cm^3.
I am given that the answer is 3850.9 but no units and I wasn't able to convert my units to get that number...
I'm pretty sure my math is correct but I think I messed up on units somewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Step one: pick CGS or MKS; do not attempt to mix them when you're not comfortable with either; i.e., densities are expressed as kg/m3 in MKS, and as g/cm3 in CGS; pressures in force per unit area, not energy per unit volume ...
 
But can't you use energy per unit volume for pressure? Similar to how atm is J/L. Plus I'm only given ΔG in kJ/mol and I don't know how to convert that into CGS
 
Atm is not J/L; 1 J/L = 1000 Pa; 1 atm = 101325 Pa
 
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