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Human lungs have evolved to breathe oxygen at a pressure as that in the atmosphere, 0.21 atm. If a particular heliox mixture to be carried by a scuba diver is at a pressure of 7.00 atm, what should be the partial pressure due to helium in order to maintain the pressure due to oxygen at 0.21 atm?

User Hooke
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1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

6.79 atm

Step-by-step explanation:

Applying Dalton's law of partial pressure:


P_(total) = P_(helium) + P_(oxygen), where
P_(total) = total partial pressure of all the component gases in the mixture,
P_(helium) = partial pressure of helium gas, and
P_(oxygen) = partial pressure of oxygen gas.

From the illustration,
P_(total) = 7.00 atm and
P_(oxygen) = 0.21 atm. Hence, the partial pressure due to helium is calculated such that:


P_(helium) =
P_(total) - P_(oxygen)

= 7.00 - 0.21

= 6.79 atm

Therefore, the partial pressure due to helium in order to maintain the pressure due to oxygen at 0.21 atm would be 6.79 atm.

User Steve Park
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