Question

Given that air is 21% oxygen, find the minimum atmospheric pressure that gives a relatively safe partial pressure of oxygen of 0.16 atm. (b) What is the minimum pressure that gives a partial pressure of oxygen above the quickly fatal level of 0.06 atm? (c) The air pressure at the summit of Mount Everest (8848 m) is 0.334 atm. Why have a few people climbed it without oxygen, while some who have tried, even though they had trained at high elevation, had to turn back?

(a) Minimum atmospheric pressure for safe partial pressure of oxygen:

a) 0.76 atm
b) 0.64 atm
c) 0.80 atm
d) 0.72 atm

Answer 1

The partial pressure of oxygen in air can be calculated using the formula P = (Patm) * (percent content in mixture). The minimum atmospheric pressure for a safe partial pressure of oxygen is 0.21 atm.

The minimum pressure that gives a partial pressure of oxygen above the quickly fatal level is 45.6 mm Hg.

Step-by-step explanation:

The partial pressure of oxygen in the air can be calculated using the formula P = (Patm) * (percent content in mixture). Given that air is 21% oxygen and the atmospheric pressure at sea level is 760 mm Hg, the partial pressure of oxygen is 0.21 * 760 mm Hg = 160 mm Hg.

To find the minimum atmospheric pressure for a safe partial pressure of oxygen of 0.16 atm, we can convert mm Hg to atm. 1 atm = 760 mm Hg, so 160 mm Hg = 0.21 atm. Therefore, the minimum atmospheric pressure is 0.21 atm, which is not one of the given options.

To find the minimum pressure that gives a partial pressure of oxygen above the quickly fatal level of 0.06 atm, we can use the same conversion. 1 atm = 760 mm Hg, so 0.06 atm = 0.06 * 760 mm Hg = 45.6 mm Hg. Therefore, the minimum pressure is 45.6 mm Hg, which is also not one of the given options.