The volatile organic compound geraniol, a component of oil in roses, is used in perfumery.

Question

The density of the vapour at 260oC and 103 torr is 0.480 gL-1. What is the molar mass of
geraniol?

Answer 1

To solve for the molar mass of geraniol, we can use the Ideal Gas Law equation:

PV = nRT

First, we need to convert the density of the vapor from g/L to g/mL:

0.480 g/L = 0.480 g / 1000 mL = 0.000480 g/mL

Next, we need to convert the temperature from Celsius to Kelvin:

260°C + 273.15 = 533.15 K

Now we can plug in the values into the Ideal Gas Law equation and solve for the number of moles (n):

(103 torr) (0.000480 g/mL) = n (0.0821 L atm/mol K) (533.15 K)
0.049824 = n (43.746515)
n = 0.001137 moles

Now we can calculate the molar mass (M) of geraniol using the formula:

M = (mass / moles) = (0.000480 g / 0.001137 mol) = 421.77 g/mol

So, the molar mass of geraniol is approximately 421.77 g/mol.