The volume of the balloon was 4400 m3 and the loss of hydrogen gas during filling was estimated at 20.%.?

Question

What mass of iron splints and 87% (by mass) H2SO4 were needed to ensure the complete filling of the balloon? Assume a temperature of 0°C, a pressure of 1.0 atm during filling, and 100% yield.

the equation is
Fe + H2SO4->FeSO4 + H2

answer in kg please :)

Answer 1

Take it a step at a time.

You need the number of moles of hydrogen to fill the balloon. Use pV = nRT and find n

Multiply by 100/80 because only 80% of the gas got into the balloon.

Use the equation Fe + H2SO4 = FeSO4 + H2

to see how many moles Fe and how many moles H2SO4 you need (not a difficult step, but I put it in because it is logically necessary)

For the Fe, multiply by the molar mass of Fe

For the amount of pure H2SO4, multiply by the molar mass of H2SO4

But it wasn't pure H2SO4. Multiply by 100/87 to get the total mass of the sulphuric acid solution used.

I think the last time anyone used this reaction to get a balloon off the ground was around 1842.