Question

Equimolar samples of methane, CH₄, ethane, C₂H₆, and butane, C₄H₁₀, are put in separate, identical containers at 1.0 atm and 25°C.

Rank the gases in order of increasing molar mass.

Answer 1

To rank the gases in order of increasing molar mass, methane (CH4) is the lightest gas, followed by ethane (C2H6), and then butane (C4H10).

Step-by-step explanation:

Methane (CH4) has a molar mass of 16 g/mol, ethane (C2H6) has a molar mass of 30 g/mol, and butane (C4H10) has a molar mass of 58 g/mol. To rank the gases in order of increasing molar mass, we start with the smallest molar mass and go to the largest molar mass. Therefore, the ranking would be methane (CH4) < ethane (C2H6) < butane (C4H10).