Molar Volume of Hydrogen: Combining the Gas Laws—ChemTopic™ Lab Activity

Airbags, a required life-saving safety feature on new cars since the 1980s, contain a compound that decomposes to give nitrogen gas upon impact. Airbags are finite containers, so it is important to calculate the amount of gas needed to fill it. With the Molar Volume of Hydrogen: Combining the Gas Laws—ChemTopic™ Lab Activity, generate hydrogen by reacting a known mass of magnesium with excess hydrochloric acid in an inverted graduated cylinder filled with water. The volume of hydrogen collected by water displacement is measured and corrected for differences in temperature and pressure to calculate the molar volume of hydrogen at STP.