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The Air Around Us Air is more than one removed from nothing
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Learning objectives Describe what is meant by pressure Identify units of gas pressure Describe the basic gas laws Apply gas laws to simple problems Describe composition of the atmosphere Name important pollutants and their effects Describe origin of the ozone hole
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Gas laws and crash safety The airbag is chemistry applied in a very practical area Airbags have reduced serious injuries and fatalities by significant margin Chemistry plays a crucial role in airbag performance
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Timing is everything The airbag must deploy within about 40 ms of the impact The airbag must not deploy unless there is an impact Inflation depends upon a rapid chemical reaction generating a quantity of gas The bag, once inflated, must then deflate at the point of impact with the driver to prevent injury
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Gas: no interactions Not rigid Completely fills container Compressible Low density
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Atom motion and temperature Atoms in molecules have three types of motion Rotation – moving about the centre of mass Vibration – vibrating about the centre of mass Translation – movement of the centre of mass As temperature increases, the energies of all types of motion increase In gases molecular energies exceeds all interactions
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Kinetic molecular theory and pressure – a case for atoms Pressure is caused by the energetic molecules striking the tire wall Pumping up a tire increases the number of molecules More molecules – higher pressure Higher temperature – higher pressure
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Under pressure Gases exert pressure by virtue of motion Gravity makes the air density higher near the earth’s surface Pressure decreases with elevation
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Atmospheric pressure Barometer is used for measuring atmospheric pressure
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Atmospheric pressure The weight of the air supports a column of mercury 760 mm high Nominally atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg Atmospheric pressure changes with the weather
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Units of pressure
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Gas laws: experience in math form The properties of gases can be described by a number of simple laws The laws establish quantitative relationships between different variables They are largely intuitively obvious and familiar
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The four variables Pressure (P) Volume (V) Temperature (T in Kelvin) Number of molecules (n in moles)
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Variables and constants In the elementary gas laws two of the four variables are kept constant Each law describes how one variable reacts to changes in another variable All the simple laws can be integrated into one combined gas law
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Boyle’s law The first experimental gas law Pressure increases, volume decreases (T, n constant)
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Charles’ Law As temperature increases, volume increases (P, n constant) Temperature must be measured in Kelvin
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Absolute zero Gay-Lussac observed V changed by 1/273 of value at 0ºC Plotted as V = kT (T = ºC + 273): V = 0 at T = 0 K Does the gas actually occupy zero volume? No, at lower T the law is not followed
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Combined gas law Fold together Boyle and Charles: P 1 V 1 /T 1 = P 2 V 2 /T 2 Given five of the variables, find the sixth Units must be consistent Temperature in Kelvin
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Standard temperature and pressure (STP) Standard conditions allow direct comparison of properties of different substances Standard temperature is 273 K (0ºC) Standard pressure is 760 mm Hg or 1 atmosphere At STP, 1 mole of any ideal gas occupies 22.414 L
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What is the atmosphere
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The atmosphere is layered Troposphere Where the weather happens Stratosphere Where the ozone is Mesosphere Ionosphere The brutal strength of solar radiation ionizes all the components – permits transmission of radio signals around the earth without need of mirrors
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Pollutants: things that shouldn’t be there SO 2 power plant emissions PM-10 particulate matter from agriculture and construction CO vehicle emissions O 3 sunlight and vehicle emissions NO 2 vehicle emissions Pb smelters and battery plants
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Cleaning up our act: successes Clean Air Act of 1970 Amended in 1977 Top six pollutants have all decreased Problems remain
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Ozone: still a problem
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Bad ozone, good ozone Stratospheric sunscreen O 3 + UV = O 2 + O O 2 + O = O 3 + heat
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Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): wonder chemicals ApplicationsProperties RefrigerationColorless Air-conditioningNontoxic PropellantsInert Foaming agents Odorless
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Hidden dangers CFCs are unstable in UV CF 2 Cl 2 + UV = Cl + CF 2 Cl Cl radicals catalyze decomposition of ozone Cl + O 3 = ClO + O 2 O 3 + UV = O 2 + O ClO + O = Cl + O 2 One Cl atom can react again and again destroying countless O 3 molecules
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The Antarctic ozone hole Ozone depletion in the Antarctic is severe Stratosphere isolated by polar vortex Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form Clouds produce chlorine gas
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Montreal Protocol and CFCs Phase-out of CFCs began 1978 Montreal Protocol (1987) called for 50 % decrease by 2000 Amended to complete phaseout Chemical ingenuity required for alternatives like HCFCs
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