Acetylene torches are used for welding. These torches use a mixture of acetylene
ID: 1063122 • Letter: A
Question
Acetylene torches are used for welding. These torches use a mixture of acetylene gas, C2H2, and oxygen gas, O2 to produce the following combustion reaction: 2C2H2(g)+5O2(g)4CO2(g)+2H2O(g) Imagine that you have a 5.50 L gas tank and a 4.50 L gas tank. You need to fill one tank with oxygen and the other with acetylene to use in conjunction with your welding torch. If you fill the larger tank with oxygen to a pressure of 155 atm , to what pressure should you fill the acetylene tank to ensure that you run out of each gas at the same time? Assume ideal behavior for all gases.
Explanation / Answer
2C2H2(g)+5O2(g)4CO2(g)+2H2O(g)
Supposing equal temperatures in both tanks:
(5.50 L x 155 atm O2) x (2 mol C2H2 / 5 mol O2) / (4.50 L) = 75.77 atm C2H2-answer