What is the partial pressure of gases?
1 Answer
In a gaseous mixture, the partial pressure is the pressure exerted by a component gas if it ALONE occupied the container.
Explanation:
The total pressure is the SUM of the individual partial pressures. Ans so the air we breathe (at approx.
So in a gaseous mixture:
Where
Since the total pressure is the sum of the partial pressures,
And
And so the partial pressure of a component is proportional to the mole fraction of that component. The law of course presupposes that the individual gases do not react with each other.