Because since air is made up of basically nitrogen and oxygen chemically combined, and water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, why isn't a molecule of air heavier because hydrogen weighs a lot less and the total atomic mass of the elements of each one put together would mean air weighs more. I do not understand why it weighs less. Please help.
2007-07-18 14:52:56 · 5 answers · asked by TaCaBu 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
N2 and O2 molecules DO weigh more than water molecules. But water is a liquid -- the molecules are stuck together fairly densely by hydrogen bonding. Air is a gas -- at atmospheric pressure the molecules are just farther apart and there is a lot of space in between them so as a bulk material air is less dense.
2007-07-18 15:00:23 · answer #1 · answered by Fly On The Wall 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Air is made up of chemicals that have less mass than those in water. Water has Oxygen in it like air, but it is combined with Hydrogen and turns it into a liquid. Water has more mass because it's a liquid and it weighs more than air because air is a gas. I don't know if this will help. But water has more mass so it has a greater gravitational pull.
2007-07-18 15:04:44 · answer #2 · answered by chocokid5 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Air is made up of diatomic molecules such as O2 (oxygen) N2 (Nitrogen) and such... The components of air have no attraction towards each other which is why it stays in gas form. Water however due to the chemical bonding of the Hydrogen and oxygen atoms actually makes it a polar molecule, meaning it has slight positive sides, and slight negative sides for each molecule. Because of this polarity the molecules of water are attracted to each other. Water becomes a liquid because of this. Like was previously stated before me... in a gasious form water is lighter than air, which is why you see steam rise, however the ground state for water is a liquid which is why it seems to weigh more than air.
2007-07-18 15:40:55 · answer #3 · answered by Wallyman 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The atmospheric air is a colorless, tasteless and transparent. Just like other matters, it has a defined weight. According to the determination, the density of air is approximately 0.00129 gram/cubic-centimeter (g/cm3) at zero degrees Celsius and under one standard atmospheric pressure.
Density of air : 0.00129 g/cm3
density of water : 0.998 g/cm³ (liquid at 20 °C),0.92 g/cm³ (solid)
2007-07-18 15:07:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
First, air is made up of MIXTURE of gases that are NOT chemically combined. Secondly, water is a liquid and air is a GAS at room temperature. Please look at your chem book to check the differences. Actually, IF water was a gas at room temperature, it would be lighter than air.
2007-07-18 15:05:23 · answer #5 · answered by cattbarf 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋