5.1.6 CIA Demonstration: The Potato Cannon

Question 1

CIA Demonstration: The Potato Cannon

Answer 1

• The expansion of gas in a potato cannon after it ignites is due to Charles’s law and Avogadro’s Law.

Question 2

note

Answer 2

• The expansion of gas in a potato cannon after the fuel
  (hairspray) is ignited forces the potato out of the cannon.
  The expansion is due to Charles’s law and Avogadro’s law.
• Charles’s law states that, for a given amount of gas at constant pressure, the volume is directly proportional to the temperature. The combustion reaction that occurs when the fuel is ignited is exothermic. When temperature increases, volume also increases.
• Avogadro’s law states that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to the number of moles of gas, at fixed temperature and pressure. Burning the hairspray results in an increase in the number of moles of gas, so the volume increases.