CHAPTER 5: GASES

Subtopics to cover

1. Kinetic-Molecular Theory
2. Ideal gases
3. Real gases
4. Gas pressures
5. Boyles Law
6. Charless Law
7. Avogadros Law
8. Daltons Partial Pressure
9. Rxn Stoichiometry

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 Gases: What are they like?
1. Gases are matter has mass and volume
2. Three laws that explain the behavior of gases: Boyles, Charles
& Avogadros
3. Conceptually simpler than solids and liquids in the microscopic
realm: Negligible intermolecular forces
4. Physical properties of solids, liquids and gases differ
5. Gas volume changes greatly with pressure & temperature.
6. Under normal conditions , gases have relatively low viscosity
and density compared with solid and liquid.
7. Gases are miscible.

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 Gases: What are they like?

8. Ionic compounds are usually solid at room temp (NaCl)

while most molecular compounds are either gases (N2)
or liquids (ethanol) that are easily vaporized.

9. Vapor: substances that are usually found as solid (e.g.

para-dichlorobenzene which is a moth repellent and
room deodorizer) or liquid (e.g. water and ethanol)

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Common gases and their uses
1. Ammonia fertilizer
2. Argon filling gas for specialized light bulbs
3. Butane fuel for heating or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)
4. CO2 beverage carbonation
5. CO reducing agent in metallurgy
6. Cl2 disinfectant, bleach
7. Helium lifting gas for balloons
8. Nitrous oxide, N2O anesthetic (a.k.a. laughing gas)
9. Octane fuel for vehicles
*All these substances are gases at room temp & 1 atm but
they can be converted to liquid by cooling or compression
(increasing its pressure)

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 Kinetic-Molecular Theory
1. Provides a model for the behavior of gases at the
microscopic level that explains the physical properties we
observe at macroscopic level
2. Kinetic indicates motion and molecular indicates
molecules. However, the theory still applies to monatomic
gases like that of Group 8 elements.
3. The molecules of a gas are in such rapid motion that they
appear to defy the force of gravity; do not collect at the
bottom of container as liquids do. Consequently:
Treats gases as collection of particles in rapid random motion
Gas molecules are distributed uniformly throughout the entire
volume of container

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 Kinetic-Molecular Theory
4. Yet, because the distances b/w gas molecules are generally much
greater than the size of the molecules themselves, the typical gas
is mostly empty space. E.g. N2 @25oC travels an ave distance of
about 200 times its molecular diameter before it encounters
another molecule. (volume of molecule is thus negligible)
5. The movement of gaseous molecules through 3-D space is called
translational motion (refers to a straight line movement) and it is
random
6. The speed and KE of individual gas molecules can vary widely and
all directions of motion are equally probable (Each molecule in
the same sample has different speed and direction)
So, it is NOT possible to predict, for any given molecule, its
speed, direction or energy of motion (KE)

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 Kinetic-Molecular Theory
7. A gas molecule moves in a straight line until it strikes either
another gas molecule or the container wall. Then it
bounces off and travels along a new straight-line path until
its next collision.
8. Some molecules lose energy and slow down as a result of
collision while others gain energy and speed up.
There is NO NET LOSS/GAIN of energy. So the total translational KE
of the molecules is not changed by collisions
Because KE is conserved, the collisions are elastic
9. According to the theory, temperature is a measure of the
average KE of the molecules for a sample of matter (solid,
liquid or gas)

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 Kinetic-Molecular Theory
10. The higher the ave KE, the higher the temp. On ave,
molecules in a cold sample of a gas move more slowly
than those in a hot sample of the same gas.

11. Postulates of Kinetic Molecular Theory:

i. The volume of each gas molecule is negligible
compared to the volume of the container
ii. There is no interaction between gas molecules
because they are too far apart to interact
iii. Each gas molecule is in constant, random and
straight line motion
iv. All collisions are elastic making the total KE constant

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 Kinetic-Molecular Theory
11. P = F/A in SI unit of Pascal (Pa)

1 Pa =1 N/m2

1 atm = 760 mmHg = 760 Torr

= 29.921 in. Hg
= 101325 Pa = 101.325 kPa
= 1.01325 bar
= 14.696 lb/in2 or psi

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 Ideal Gases & Real Gases
PV = nRT
is the ideal gas law or the ideal gas equation. R is the gas
constant 0.0821 L atm /mol K
1. An ideal gas is a hypothetical gas. At room temp (or
slightly above) and at pressures of a few atmospheres,
most gases obey the ideal gas law i.e. Real gases are most
likely to exhibit ideal behavior at high temperatures and
low pressures where the intermolecular interactions &
volume of molecule are negligible.
2. Ideal Gas Law approximates the behavior of real gases
under many conditions, so that we can describe real gases
fairly well by using the ideal gas law

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 Ideal Gases & Real Gases
3. However, at high pressures and low temperatures, real
gases depart from ideal gas behavior.
4. When the ideal gas law fails, it generally can be replaced
by another equation such as the van der Waals equation:

(P + an2/V2) * (V - nb) = nRT

Adjustments/corrections are made to account for the

intermolecular forces of attractions and for the volume of
the gas molecules

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 Ideal Gases & Real Gases
5. Departure/deviation from ideal behavior:
a. high pressures
at high pressure, the volume of the container is small,
making the volume of gas molecules more significant.
Because of the small space, gas molecules begin to
interact more with each other. Therefore, an ideal gas
behavior no longer exists.
gases can turn into liquid at high pressure as more
interaction (attraction & repulsion) occurs b/w gas
molecules. A system always try to reduce its energy,
therefore, repulsion would give way to attraction. Thus,
liquid is formed at high pressures.
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 Ideal Gases & Real Gases
b. low temperatures
a low temperature indicates a low KE which means the
gas molecules are in slow motion. This will cause more
interaction between gas molecules. Also, gas molecules
begin to collect at the bottom of the container which
makes the volume of gas molecules more significant.

i.e. Gas molecules start to recognize each other and get

attracted to one another. This is the cooling effect on a gas
where gas is turned into liquid. As more attraction occurs,
the distance b/w gas molecules reduces. Liquid is formed
at low temperature.

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 Boyles Law
For a fixed amount of gas at constant temp, the product of
the pressure and volume is a constant

PV = nRT = constant

For a given system with constant Temp and amount of gas

(number of moles), you can calculate the initial and final
conditions of the Pressure and Volume: P1V1 = P2V2

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Figure 5.15 A molecular description of Boyles Law.

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 Calculations Involving Boyles Law
Example:
A helium-filled party balloon has a volume of 4.50L at sea
level, where the atmospheric pressure is 748 Torr.
Assuming that the temperature remains constant, what
will be the volume of the balloon when it is taken to a
mountain resort at an altitude of 2500m, where the
atmospheric pressure is 557 Torr?
(Answer : 6.04 L)

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 Calculations Involving Boyles Law
Example:
A gas is enclosed in a cylinder fitted with a piston. The volume
of the gas is 2.00L at 398Torr. The piston is moved to increase
the gas pressure to 5.15 atm. What is the final volume of the
gas?

(Answer: 0.203L)

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 Charless Law
The volume of a fixed amount of gas at a constant pressure is
directly proportional to its Kelvin temperature.

V/T = nR/P = constant.

Therefore, for a given system with a constant amount of gas

(number of moles) and Pressure, you can calculate the initial
and final conditions of the Volume and Temperature (in K).

V1 V2

T1 T 2

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Figure 5.17 A molecular description of Charless Law.

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 Calculations Involving Charless Law

Example:
A balloon indoors, where the temp is 27oC, has a volume of
2.00L. What will its volume be outdoors, where the
temperature is -23oC (Assume no change in gas pressure)

(Answer: 1.67L)

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 Calculations Involving Charless Law
Example:
A sample of nitrogen gas occupies a volume of 2.50L at -120oC
and 1.00atm pressure. To what temperature should the gas be
heated in order to double its volume while maintaining a
constant pressure?

(Answer: 306K or 33oC)

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Avogadros Law: The mole-volume relationship
At a fixed temperature and pressure, the volume of a gas
is directly proportional to the amount of gas (that is, to
the number of moles of gas, n, or to the number of
molecules of gas)

V/n = RT/P

Standard temperature and pressure (STP) is at 0oC (or

273.15 K) and 1 atm.
At STP, a mole of ANY gas occupies the same volume as 1
mole of any other gases. The molar volume of a gas at
STP is 22.4L/mol
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Figure 5.18 A molecular description of Avogadros Law.

At a fixed temperature and pressure, the VOLUME would change to accommodate the
change in moles of gas

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Figure 5.8 Standard molar volume.

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 Calculations Involving Avogadros Law

Example:
Calculate the volume occupied by 4.11 kg of methane (CH4)
gas at STP

(Answer: 5.74E3 L)

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 The Density of a Gas

density = m/V

n = m/M

PV = nRT PV = (m/M)RT

m/V = M x P/RT

The density of a gas is directly proportional to its molar mass.

The density of a gas is inversely proportional to the temperature.

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 The Molar Mass of a Gas

m PV
n= =
M RT

mRT m
M= d=
VP V

dRT
M=
P

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 Mixtures of Gases
Gases mix homogeneously in any proportions. They
are miscible.
Each gas in a mixture behaves as if it were the only
gas present.
Partial pressures can be calculated as follows:

Daltons Law of Partial Pressures

Ptotal = P1 + P2 + P3 + ...

P1= c1 x Ptotal where c1 is the mole fraction

n1 n1
c1 = =
n1 + n2 + n3 +... ntotal

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Figure 5.16 A molecular description of Daltons law of partial pressures.

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 Gases in Rxn Stoichiometry

2 H2(g) + O2(g) 2 H2O(l)

C5H12(l) + 8 O2(g) 5 CO2(g) + 6 H2O(l)

Given any rxn involving gases, you can now calculate P, V,

n or T of the gas provided that the gas exhibits ideal gas
behavior
You can do this using the Ideal Gas Law or the individual
Gas Laws

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 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Ideal Gas Law, PV = nRT predicts the behavior of real gases
at high T and low P whereby gases are expected to behave
ideally
At STP, a mole of any gas has volume of 22.4L
Ideal Gas Law fails at low temperatures and high pressures
because intermolecular forces and molecular volume are
no longer negligible
Kinetic Molecular Theory explains the behavior of gases;
Gas molecules are in rapid, random and straight line
motion. Each molecule has its own speed and direction.
The KE of a gas sample is always constant because the
average KE of gas molecules does not change.

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 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Application of PV = nRT in rxn stoichiometry: you can
obtain additional information regarding related gases from
either P, V, n or T of a gas sample by applying the Ideal Gas
Law or the individual gas laws. Other stoichiometric
calculations still applies

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 Hurricanes

Tornado ~300mph
moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and
cool, dry air from Canada

Rapid wind due to rapid change in temperature and therefore, rapid

change in gas pressure

The vast sea is essential in keeping the temperature of Earth

constant/balanced. Sea is able to store and release heat (due to its
high heat capacity). However, if it fails to do so, then the air in the
surroundings will get affected. Pressure starts to pick up and you
get a storm or worse.
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Hurricane Formation

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