* Water contamination: Water (H₂O) has a molar mass of 18 g/mol, while CO₂ has a molar mass of 44 g/mol. The presence of water in the flask, even in tiny droplets, would contribute to the total mass measured.
* Increased mass, unchanged moles: Since the water doesn't react with the CO₂, the number of moles of CO₂ remains unchanged. However, the total mass increases due to the added water.
* Higher calculated molar mass: The molar mass is calculated as mass/moles. With an increased mass and the same number of moles, the calculated molar mass would be higher than the true molar mass of CO₂.
In summary: The presence of water droplets would lead to an overestimation of the CO₂ molar mass because the mass used in the calculation would be inflated.
