How do you find the partial pressure of oxygen?

1 Answer
anor277
Aug 21, 2016

In what circumstance?

Explanation:

In a gaseous mixture, the partial pressure of a gaseous component is the same as the pressure it would exert if that gas alone occupied the container.

We are currently breathing air at #1# #atm# pressure. Given the normal composition of air, 78% dinitrogen, 21% dioxygen, 1% other gases, we can say quite categorically that the partial pressure of dioxygen in the atmosphere is approx. #0.2*atm#, and the partial pressure of dinitrogen is approx. #0.8*atm#. The total pressure is of course the sum of the individual partial pressures.

Related questions
See all questions in Partial Pressure
Impact of this question
2127 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License