Chemistry Question: Calculating Mass of NO2 Gas Required for Nitric Acid Production
Calculating the Mass of NO2 Gas for Nitric Acid Production
To calculate the mass of NO2 gas needed to produce 250mL of 1.5 molar nitric acid, we can follow these steps:
Given that the volume is 250mL (0.250 L) and the molarity is 1.5 M, we can calculate the moles of HNO3: Number of moles = Molarity × Volume (in liters) = 1.5 moles/L × 0.250 L = 0.375 moles of HNO3
Step 2: Use the stoichiometry of the reaction to find the moles of NO2 required.Based on the balanced chemical equation 3 NO2(g) + H2O(l) → 2 HNO3(aq) + NO(g), we know that 3 moles of NO2 produce 2 moles of HNO3. Therefore, we set up a proportion: Moles of NO2 = (3 moles NO2 / 2 moles HNO3) × 0.375 moles HNO3 = 0.5625 moles of NO2
Step 3: Convert moles of NO2 to mass using the molar mass of NO2.The molar mass of NO2 is approximately 46.0055 g/mol. Therefore, we can calculate: Mass of NO2 = Moles of NO2 × Molar mass of NO2 = 0.5625 moles × 46.0055 g/mol ≈ 25.88 g
Therefore, approximately 25.88 grams of NO2 gas is required to produce 250mL of 1.5 molar nitric acid.