Question

Two containers A and B of identical volume. Container 'A' have 2 moles of N$_2$ and 3 mole of He. Container B has 5 mole of O$_2$. Both containers are at same temperature. Calculate the average rate of effusion of mixture of O$_2$.

Answer 1

5 : √32

Answer 2

The rate of effusion of a gas is proportional to its pressure and inversely proportional to the square root of its molar mass. For a gas in a container of fixed volume at a fixed temperature, the pressure is directly proportional to the number of moles ($P \propto n$). Therefore, the rate of effusion is proportional to $n/\sqrt{M}$. For O$_2$ in container B, the number of moles is 5 and the molar mass is 32. Thus, the rate of effusion is proportional to $5/\sqrt{32}$, which can be represented as the ratio $5 : \sqrt{32}$ or $5 : 4\sqrt{2}$.