AP Chemistry : AP Chemistry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Data Analysis And Other Calculations

A chemistry student is trying to determine the identity of an unknown gas. If the gas has a molar mass of  at  and , what is the density of this unknown gas under these conditions?

Possible Answers:

Impossible to determine without additional information

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We are given the pressure, temperature, and molar mass of the gas in the question stem and are asked to determine the density. To do this, we will need to make use of a manipulated form of the ideal gas equation.

To find density, we will need a way to relate the variables given in the question stem to other parameters, namely mass and volume. Since we already have the volume, , contained in the ideal gas equation, we just need a way to find the mass, . We can do this by noting that the number of moles, , can also be written as the mass divided by the molar mass, . Substituting this in gives us:

And rearranging, we obtain the density:

But we're not done yet! Remember, we also have to convert the units given for pressure and temperature in the question stem into their proper form. Since we need pressure in terms of atmospheres, and there are  in  of gas, we can find that:

Furthermore, we need to convert degrees Celsius into Kelvins.

Now that we have all the units in their correct form, we're finally ready to plug our values into the equation for density:

 

Example Question #4 : Data Analysis And Other Calculations

The hospital carries 0.9%  solution of sodium chloride in purified . The professor asked his student to prepare 500mL of 0.45% percent solution sodium chloride in purified . What volumes of the original solution and purified , respectively, are needed to make the new solution?  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This is a typical dilution problem. The first step is to recognize that this is a dilution question. Whenever figuring out how to go from a higher concentrated solution to a lower concentrated solution, it is a dilution problem. The main equation to use here is:

or

or

When plugging in the numbers, make sure to assign the correct volumes and concentrations. Think of one side of the equation describing the 0.9%  solution of sodium chloride and the other side describing the 0.45% solution of sodium chloride.

 is the amount of the original solution needed to make the new 0.45% solution. However, we need to add water to the solution to dilute it. To find how much water is needed, subtract:

 of water.  

Example Question #2 : Laboratory Techniques And Analysis

How many significant figures does the number 42,000,000 have?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

42,000,000 has two significant figures because of the rule that states that trailing zeroes are never significant unless there is a decimal point. For example, if the number given was "42,000,000." it would be eight significant figures.

Example Question #3 : Laboratory Techniques And Analysis

Write the number 42,000,000 in scientific notation using the correct number of significant figures.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The correct answer is . This is found by moving the decimal place to the left 7 times in order to get one digit to the left of the decimal, and the rest of the digits to the right. The answer just has two significant figures because that is the number of significant figures in the original number.

Example Question #4 : Laboratory Techniques And Analysis

Convert the number  into standard notation, with the correct number of significant figures.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To convert into standard notation we must move the decimal two places to the right because of the exponent of "2" above the 10. Then we re-write the number with the decimal in the new space. All of the digits that were in the original scientific notation must be accounted for. Thus, our answer must have six significant figures.

Example Question #5 : Data Analysis And Other Calculations

Solve. Account for significant figures.

Calculate using the correct number of significant figures:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The answer is 500 because our rules of significant figures state that when two numbers are multiplied our answer can only have as many significant figures as our number with the fewest significant figures. In this case 5.02 has three significant figures, but 100 only has 1 significant figure. Therefore our answer can only have 1 significant figure.

Example Question #7 : Data Analysis And Other Calculations

Solve and account for significant figures.

Calculate using the correct number of significant figures:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The answer is 13.18 because the rules for adding and subtracting significant figures state that the answer can only be precise up to the least precise digit from the numbers that were added/subtracted. In this case 2.12 is only precise to the hundredth place, and therefore our answer can only go to the hundredth place.

Example Question #11 : Data Analysis And Other Calculations

Working in the laboratory, a student finds the density of pure aluminum to be . The accepted value for the density of aluminum is . What was the student's percent error?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the percent error, the formula is:

Therefore we plug in the values given:

Therefore, the correct answer including significant figures is 

Example Question #181 : Ap Chemistry

Table 1

The table shows the data obtained by three groups when finding the boiling point of methanol. The accepted value is . Is group A precise, accurate or both?

Possible Answers:

Precise and accurate

Neither precise nor accurate

Accurate but not precise

Precise but not accurate

Correct answer:

Precise but not accurate

Explanation:

Group A's values are precise because the data values are all close to each other, but it is not accurate because it none of them is near the accepted value.

Example Question #182 : Ap Chemistry

Table 1

The table shows the data obtained by three groups when attempting to find the boiling point of methanol. The accepted value is . Is group C precise, accurate, both, or neither?

Possible Answers:

Precise and accurate

Precise but not accurate

Neither precise nor accurate

Accurate but not precise

Correct answer:

Precise and accurate

Explanation:

Group C is precise because all of their values are close to one another. Their data is also accurate because their values are all near the accepted value. Therefore group C is both accurate and precise.

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