A gaseous mixture of O2 and N2 contains 30.8% nitrogen by mass. What is the partial pressure of oxygen in the mixture if the total pressure is 505mmHg ?
Poxygen = ? mmHg
Dalton's law states that the total pressure, Ptotal, of a mixture of gases in a container equals the sum of the pressures of each individual gas:
Ptotal=P1+P2+P3+...
The partial pressure of the first component, P1, is equal to the mole fraction of this component, X1, times the total pressure of the mixture:
P1=X1×Ptotal
The mole fraction, X, represents the concentration of the component in the gas mixture, so
X1=moles of component 1total moles in mixture