Question

Gases are typically a mixture of several different gases, and each of these gases exerts its own pressure on the walls of the container. The pressure for each of the individual gases is referred to as the partial pressure, or the pressure that the individual gas would exert on the container if it was the only gas in the container.

Dalton’s law of partial pressures states that the total pressure of a mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each of the individual gases.

What is the total pressure within a gas cylinder if the cylinder consists of 4.54 atm of oxygen, 1.2 atm of nitrogen, and 2.61 atm of argon?

Answer 1

According to Dalton’s law of partial pressures, it states that the

Total pressure of a mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each of the individual gases.

Given

The cylinder consists of

4.54 atm of oxygen,

1.2 atm of nitrogen,

and 2.61 atm of argon

these are the partial pressures of each individual gases.

hence

Total pressure within gas cylinder is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each of the individual gases

Total pressure = 4.54 atm of oxygen + 1.2 atm of nitrogen + 2.61 atm of argon = 8.35 atm