Ideal Gas Law Application: Calculating Propane Mass in a Full Tank

How to calculate the mass of propane in a full tank using the Ideal Gas Law?

Given that a propane tank can hold 325 mL of propane (C3H8) at a pressure of 26 kPa and a temperature of 55°C, how many grams of propane are in the full tank?

Answer:

It would contain approximately 0.422 grams of propane.

To calculate the mass of propane in the full tank, we can use the ideal gas law equation: PV = nRT, where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles, R is the gas constant, and T is the temperature.

First, let's convert the given volume of the tank from milliliters to liters: 325 mL = 325/1000 = 0.325 L.

Next, we need to convert the temperature from Celsius to Kelvin: 55°C + 273.15 = 328.15 K.

Now, we can use the ideal gas law equation to find the number of moles of propane: n = (PV) / (RT) = (26 kPa * 0.325 L) / (8.314 J/(mol*K) * 328.15 K) = 0.00957 mol.

The molar mass of propane (C3H8) is approximately 44.1 g/mol. Therefore, multiplying the number of moles by the molar mass gives the mass of propane in the tank: 0.00957 mol * 44.1 g/mol = 0.422 g.

Thus, the full tank of propane contains approximately 0.422 grams of propane.