Question

A student experimentally determines the gas law constant, R, by reacting a small piece of magnesium with excess hydrochloric acid and then collecting the hydrogen gas over water in a eudiometer. Based on experimentally collected data, the student calculates R to equal 0.0832

Answer 1

Due to errors in volume and moles measurement by the student, the true value of the molar gas constant is less than the obtained value.

The Percent error is 1.39%

What is percent error?

Percent error is defined as the ratio of error and true value of a measurement expressed as a percentage.

• Percent error = (error/true value) × 100%

Error = |true value - measured value|

The error in the students measurement = |0.08206 - 0.0832|

Error = 0.00114

Percent error = (0.00114/0.08206) × 100%

Percent error = 1.39%

The formula to determine the molar gas constant R is given below:

$R = \frac{PV}{nT}$

Since the student value is higher than the true value, the possible sources of error include:

• The student student does not equilibrate the water levels within the eudiometer and the beaker at the end of the reaction resulting in increased volume
• The student does not clean the zinc with sand paper, thus the number of moles of hydrogen gas produced is less than the actual value.

Therefore, the true value of the molar gas constant is less than the obtained value.

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