Pressure, volume, and temperature

[j88k]

Homework Statement

What is the ratio of the volume occupied by 300C steam at 1.0 atm pressure to the volume occupied by an equal mass of liquid water?

Homework Equations

P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2 ??

The Attempt at a Solution

not sure where to start

 

[Delphi51]

Can you look up the density of steam at that temperature and pressure?
I think the Handbook of Chemistry has such a table. Or try Wikipedia.

 

[Chi Meson]

No, no, Delphi, that is not in the spirit of Physics. What are you, an engineer? ;-)

Actually, you want to look at the density of water. Fairly easy. From water's density, determine the volume of a given mass.

Depending on the level of your physics class, you might be able to treat steam as an ideal gas. If so, use the ideal gas law to determine the volume of the steam.

 

[Delphi51]

an engineer?

Oh, no! I don't know if I would trust water to be an ideal gas, though. Maybe we need a chemist!

 

[Chi Meson]

Oh, no! I don't know if I would trust water to be an ideal gas, though. Maybe we need a chemist!

In freshman physics books there are dozens of questions which tell you to "treat the [whatever] as an ideal gas." In advanced thermodynamics, you need to add the specific qualifying ratios, but this didn't sound like an advanced level question.