Answer to Question #123045 in General Chemistry for Trenton

Question

A diver is preparing for a dive and needs to decide which scuba tank to take. Tank A is 15L and has an internal pressure of 17.2 atm. Tank B is 8.25L and has a pressure of 28.75 atm. Both tanks are at 25°C. Which tank would you recommend the diver use to make the longest possible dive assuming gas will flow from each container at the same rate?

Answer 1

According to the ideal gas law,

pV = nRT.

If the temperature is same in both cases, then both R and T are constants.

Therefore, the number of moles is directly proportional to the product of pressure and volume. The higher this product is, the longer dive can be made.

p_AV_A = 15 x 17.2 = 258

p_BV_B = 8.25 x 28.75 = 237.2

So the tank A contains more air and, therefore, is recommended.

Answer: tank A