A breathing mixture used by deep sea divers has a total pressure of 101.4 kPa and contains hellum, oxygen and carbon doxide. What is the partial pressure of oxygen if #P_(He) = 82.5 kPa# and #P_(CO_2) = 0.4 kPa#?

1 Answer
anor277
Jul 1, 2017

#P_"Total"=P_(O_2)+P_(He)+P_(CO_2)........#

Explanation:

And so #P_(O_2)=P_"Total"-P_(He)-P_(CO_2)#

#={101.4-82.5-0.4}*kPa#

#=18.5*kPa#

In commercial diving mixes I am not sure that carbon dioxide would be added in those quantities. I used to do a lot of recreational scuba diving, and of course we filled our tanks with compressed air. Commercial divers, nowadays, use so-called #"trimix"#, which is usually #"trimix 10/70"#, #10%# #O_2#, #70%# #He#, and #20%# #N_2#.....which is apparently suitable for #100*m#, i.e. #330*ft# depths, which to me are frightening.

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