115k views
4 votes
A mixture of He, N2, and CO2 has a total pressure of 0.987 atm at 25°C. The partial pressure of CO2 is 0.385 atm. If the temperature is increased to 50°C, what will happen to the partial pressure of CO2?

A. It will increase
B. It will decrease
C. It will stay exactly the same
D. There is not enough information to determine

User Bcrist
by
7.2k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The partial pressure of CO2 will stay the same if the temperature is increased to 50°C, assuming volume and amount of CO2 remain constant since individual gas behavior in a mixture follows Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the temperature is increased to 50°C, the partial pressure of CO2 will stay exactly the same assuming the volume and amount of CO2 in the system do not change. According to Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, the total pressure of a gas mixture is the sum of the partial pressures of its individual gases. The partial pressure of each gas is independent of the presence of other gases and is only affected by its own number of moles, volume, and temperature. In this case, while increasing the temperature generally increases the pressure of a gas according to Gay-Lussac's Law, if the pressure of the mixture is controlled (for example, by adjusting the volume or allowing the gas to expand), the partial pressure of an individual gas will not independently change. For example, if a gas mixture inside a balloon is heated, the balloon expands, maintaining individual partial pressures despite the increase in temperature.

User Akshay Apte
by
7.7k points