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What is the pressure of the air, in atm , in the lungs when the gas expands to 175.0 mL at a body temperature of 37 ∘C , and the amount of gas remains constant?

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The pressure of the air in the lungs is approximately 1.06 atm.

The combined gas law is a versatile equation that relates the initial and final states of a gas when the amount of gas and temperature remain constant. In the case of the lungs, the gas is assumed to be under constant amount (since it refers to the air we breathe) and the temperature is maintained at the body temperature of 37 °C, equivalent to 310 K. The given initial pressure is often considered as the atmospheric pressure, which is approximately 1 atm.

By rearranging and applying the combined gas law, the final pressure in the lungs can be calculated using the given final volume of 175.0 mL (or 0.175 L). The resulting pressure of approximately 1.06 atm suggests a slight increase from the atmospheric pressure due to the expansion of the gas in the lungs. This calculation exemplifies how gas laws can be employed to understand the behavior of gases under changing conditions, offering insights into physiological processes like breathing.

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