Partial pressure is the pressure that a single gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the entire volume by itself. It is an essential concept for understanding gas mixtures and reactions in chemistry.
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Partial pressure is directly proportional to the mole fraction of the gas in the mixture.
Dalton's Law states that the total pressure of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of partial pressures of all individual gases.
Partial pressures can be used to calculate the amounts of reactants and products in gaseous reactions.
The partial pressure of a gas can be calculated using $P_i = X_i \cdot P_{total}$, where $P_i$ is the partial pressure, $X_i$ is the mole fraction, and $P_{total}$ is the total pressure.
In stoichiometry, partial pressures are useful for determining equilibrium constants involving gases.
Review Questions
What does Dalton's Law state about partial pressures?
How do you calculate the partial pressure of a gas in a mixture?
Why is partial pressure important in gaseous reactions?
$PV=nRT$, an equation describing the state of an ideal gas where $P$ represents pressure, $V$ volume, $n$ moles, $R$ ideal gas constant, and $T$ temperature.