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How many mol of CH4 are in a 150 L tank exerting a pressure of 20.0 atm when the temperature is 24.0 degrees Celsius?

In this example there is an implicit assumption that methane, CH4 , is a gas. In the problem all of the data, pressure, temperature and volume, refer to physical properties of the gas. If there was information indicating the gas was interacting with another substance, as in a chemical reaction, we would need to use a different strategy.

 

Factoid:
The only time we see information about pressure associated with a phase other than gas is when discussing vapor pressure. Vapor pressure is associated with liquids, and is a measure of the pressure exerted by the vapor above a liquid at a given temperature. (NOTE: These will be pop-up windoids, that student can show and hide on demand.)


Factoid:
Any problem containing combinations of data including pressure, temperature, volume, mol, density and/or mass of a gas requires the use of the Ideal Gas Equation. (NOTE: These will be pop-up windoids, that student can show and hide on demand.)

Having decided on the type of problem click here to see a general problem solving strategy.

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