Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: azab41 on September 20, 2004, 05:39:57 PM
-
Ok, this was a lab that we did, but i can't figure out how?
You take a soda can and add a small amount of water, put it on the heater until it is steaming. The next step is to dump the can upside-down in cold water, the can collapses on it's own instantaneously.
The question is: What happened, and what happened with the intermolecular forces and kenetic energy??
I know that it has to do with vapor pressure, the requirements for water to boil, I also know that as the Kenetic Energy INCREASES, the intermolecular forces effects DECREASES.
I'm having a problem putting all aspects together.
-
The simplest answer is that as the hot gas in the container cools the pressure decreases causing the sides of the can to cave in do to the pressure being lower inside the can. P1/T1 = P2/T2 might help in arguing this logic.