We now note that the total pressure of the mixture of N 2 and O 2 in the container is equal to the sum of the pressures of the N 2 and O 2 samples when each was taken separately. This is an interesting result, because it says that each gas in the mixture exerts the pressure it would exert if it were the only gas present. In the next study, we will see that this observation gives us a lot of insight into what the gas particles are doing.
We now define the “partial pressure” of each gas in the mixture to be the pressure of each gas as if it were the only gas present. Our measurements tell us that the partial pressure of N 2 , P N2 , is 0.763 atm, and the partial pressure of O 2 , P O2 , is 0.215 atm. Note that this definition of the partial pressure means that the partial pressure of each component can be calculated from the Ideal Gas Law. For example:
P O2 = n O2 RT/V and P N2 = n N2 RT/V
With this definition, we can now summarize our observation by saying that the total pressure of the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the two gases. This is a general result described by Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures: the total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of the partial pressures of the component gases in the mixture.
In some sense, this is not a surprising outcome. We knew from our measurements that the pressure of a gas did not depend on the type of gas, but instead depended on the number of gas particles. It makes sense, then, that we can calculate the total pressure of a gas by summing up the numbers of moles of each gas present and using that total number of moles in the Ideal Gas Law to predict the pressure.
Review and discussion questions
- Sketch a graph with two curves showing Pressure vs. Volume for two different values of the number of moles of gas, with n 2 >n 1 , both at the same temperature. Explain the comparison of the two curves.
- Sketch a graph with two curves showing Pressure vs. 1/Volume for two different values of the number of moles of gas, with n 2 >n 1 , both at the same temperature. Explain the comparison of the two curves.
- Sketch a graph with two curves showing Volume vs. Temperature for two different values of the number of moles of gas, with n 2 >n 1 , both at the same pressure. Explain the comparison of the two curves.
- Sketch a graph with two curves showing Volume vs. Temperature for two different values of the pressure of the gas, with P 2 >P 1 , both for the same number of moles. Explain the comparison of the two curves.
- Explain the significance of the fact that, in the volume-temperature experiments, β/α is observed to have the same value, independent of the quantity of gas studied and the type of gas studied. What is the significance of the quantity β/α? Why is it more significant than either β or α?
- Amonton’s Law says that the pressure of a gas is proportional to the absolute temperature for a fixed quantity of gas in a fixed volume. Thus, P = k(N,V)T. Demonstrate that Amonton’s Law can be derived by combining Boyle’s Law and Charles’ Law.
- Using Boyle’s Law in your reasoning, demonstrate that the “constant” in Charles’ Law, i.e. k C (N,P), is inversely proportional to P.
- Explain how Boyle's Law and Charles' Law may be combined to the general result that, for constant quantity of gas, P × V = k T.
- Using Dalton’s Law and the Ideal Gas Law, show that the partial pressure of a component of a gas mixture can be calculated from P i = P X i Where P is the total pressure of the gas mixture and X i is the “mole fraction” of component i, defined by X i = n i /n total
- Dry air is 78.084% nitrogen, 20.946% oxygen, 0.934% argon, and 0.033% carbon dioxide. Determine the mole fractions and partial pressures of the components of dry air at standard pressure.
- Assess the accuracy of the following statement: Boyle’s Law states that PV=k 1 , where k 1 is a constant. Charles’ Law states that V=k 2 T, where k 2 is a constant. Inserting V from Charles’ Law into Boyle’s Law results in Pk 2 T = k 1 . We can rearrange this to read PT = k 1 /k 2 = a constant. Therefore, the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to the temperature of the gas. In your assessment, you must determine what information is correct or incorrect, provide the correct information where needed, explain whether the reasoning is logical or not, and provide logical reasoning where needed.