Question

A 1.2-liter tank at a temperature of 27°C contains a mixture of 1.5 moles of oxygen, 1.2 moles of nitrogen, and 1.6 moles of hydrogen. What is the total pressure of the mixture inside the tank?

Answer 1

Approx. `88*atm`

Explanation:

Dalton's law of partial pressures states that in a gaseous mixture, the pressure exerted by a component is the same as it would exert if it alone occupied the container. The total pressure os the sum of the individual partial pressures.

So, there are `4.3` moles of gas occupying the container, and we assume Ideal Gas behaviour:

`P=(nRT)/V` `=` `(4.3*molxx0.0821*L*atm*K^-1*mol^-1xx300*K)/(1.2*L)`

This is quite a high pressure; of course, as you know `1` `mol` of gas would occupy approx `25*L` under standard conditions of `1` `atm` and `298K`.