One way of separating oxygen isotopes is by gaseous diffusion of carbon monoxide. The gaseous diffusion process behaves like an effusion process. Calculate the relative rates of effusion of 12C16O, 12C17O, and 12C18O. Name some advantages and disadvantages of separating oxygen isotopes by gaseous diffusion of carbon dioxide instead of carbon monoxide.

Answer 1

(rate1/rate2) = sqrt(M2/M1)
Plug in M2 and M1; e.g., 12C16O might be M1 and 12C17O might be M2, then do M1 vs M3 (M3 would be 12C16O18). If you give a value of 1.00 to the rate for 12C16O, then you will come out with a ratio of
1:xx:yy.
The one quick obvious advantage of using CO2 instead of CO is the toxicity of CO.