Answer: The mass of the piston is 16.2 kg.Weight of a Piston: 16.2 kg

[james brug]

Homework Statement

A vertical cylindrical tank contains 1.80 mol of an ideal gas under a pressure of 1.05 atm at 22.0$$^\circ$$ C. The round part of the tank has a radius of 10.0 cm , and the gas is supporting a piston that can move up and down in the cylinder without friction.

What is the mass of this piston?

Homework Equations

pV=nRT

The Attempt at a Solution

$$.05*1 \; atm*.01\pi \: m^2/9.8 \approx 16.2 kg$$

 

[Andrew Mason]

Homework Statement

A vertical cylindrical tank contains 1.80 mol of an ideal gas under a pressure of 1.05 atm at 22.0$$^\circ$$ C. The round part of the tank has a radius of 10.0 cm , and the gas is supporting a piston that can move up and down in the cylinder without friction.

What is the mass of this piston?

Homework Equations

pV=nRT

The Attempt at a Solution

$$.05*1 \; atm*.01\pi \: m^2/9.8 \approx 16.2 kg$$

What determines the pressure of the gas in the cylinder? How much of that force (per unit area) is due to the weight of the pistion?

AM

 

[nlightner]

I would like to clarify that the given information is not enough to accurately determine the mass of the piston. The ideal gas law, pV=nRT, can only be used to calculate the mass of the gas inside the tank, not the mass of the piston. The mass of the piston depends on its material and dimensions, which are not provided in the given information. Therefore, the mass of the piston cannot be accurately determined with the given information.