Ideal Gas Experiment

849 Words4 Pages
Introduction In this experiment, gases are the main focus. What are gases? Gases assume the volume and shape of their container. It is considered as the most compressible state of matter since molecules are far apart in no particular arrangement. When gases are confined in a same container, they will mix evenly and completely. Moreover, gases have much lower densities than solids and liquids. Due to its physical properties, gases are prone to changes especially in pressure, temperature, and volume. Furthermore, gases can be classified as an ideal or a real gas. Ideal gas simply follows the kinetic molecular theory of a gas that consists of four postulates. First, it is assumed that the volume of individual particles are negligible since the…show more content…
Effusion is the process in which gas escapes from one compartment of a container to the other through a small opening under the condition of pressure. The particles can pass through the small opening due to its small size and its random motion. In the effusion apparatus shown in figure 1, there is a platinum foil with a pinhole in which a gas can escape; this serves as the small opening. Likewise, it can be seen in the figure that there are X and Y; these will serve as the basis for the measurement of the volume of the gas that will escape using water to displace the gas. Graham’s Law of Effusion by Thomas Graham states that the rate of effusion is indirectly proportional to its root mean square speed. The equation for the root mean square speed is depicted…show more content…
The gas that was measured first was the air since it will be used as a standard. The apparatus was filled first by a tap water. The water was displaced within the effusion apparatus by positioning the stopcock to 1. There were three different positions that were used repeatedly in this experiment and was depicted in figure 2. Besides, the tube was closed and lowered until it settled in the bottom of the outer vessel by positioning the stopcock to 2. After that, it was turn to position 3 to measure the effusion time with the use of a stop watch. The time that was measured is the time the water rises from the lower line (X) up to the upper line (Y) in the effusion tube. Moreover, all the water in the effusion apparatus was flushed first to the sink before introducing a new gas. A gas was introduced through a rubber tubing that was connected from the cylinder of the specific gas to the side arm of the effusion apparatus. Additionally, the flow of the gas was controlled by a needle valve. Likewise, the gas was allowed to bubble through the water so that the water will be saturated with the gas. For each gas, four trials were performed. These steps were repeated on other gases which were carbon dioxide, nitrogen and
Open Document