# How do you calculate the partial pressure of hydrogen gas?

Oct 13, 2016

The same way you calculate the partial pressure of any other gas.........

#### Explanation:

.....i.e. in a gaseous mixture, the partial pressure exerted by a component gas is the same as the pressure it would exert if it ALONE occupied the container. The total pressure is the sum of the individual partial pressures.

I have just restated $\text{Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures}$, and using the Ideal Gas Equation, we say that ${P}_{1} = \frac{{n}_{1} R T}{V}$, ${P}_{2} = \frac{{n}_{2} R T}{V}$,.......... ${P}_{n} = \frac{{n}_{n} R T}{V}$, etc.

And thus ${P}_{\text{Total}}$ $=$ ${P}_{1} + {P}_{2} + \ldots \ldots \ldots . {P}_{n}$

$=$ $\left({n}_{1} + {n}_{2} + {n}_{3.} \ldots \ldots . .\right) \times \frac{R T}{V}$.

The partial pressure exerted by an individual component is thus proportional to ${P}_{\text{Total}}$, with the constant of proportionality being ${n}_{i} / \left({n}_{1} + {n}_{2} + {n}_{3.} . .\right)$, the mole fraction.

This is all abstract, but you can bring an actual problem to the table.