Gas Laws Pt.

2
C2 – General Chemistry
Dalton’s Law
• The total pressure of a mixture of gases can be obtained by the sum
of the partial pressures of each individual gas.

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑃1 + 𝑃2 + 𝑃3 …
• where:
• Ptotal = total pressure
• P1, P2, P3 and so on = partial pressures of each gas
Dalton’s Law
• Ex. 6. A mixture of gases is composed of He, N2, O2
and C. Each of these gases have partial pressures of 600
torr, 300 torr, 250 torr and 1350 torr respectively.
Calculate the total pressure.
Example:
Dalton’s Law
• Ex. 7. The total pressure of a mixture of gases is 5570
mmHg. Gas A has a pressure of 650 mmHg while gas C
has a pressure of 3450 mmHg. What is the pressure of
gas B?
Dalton’s Law
• However, if one (or all) of the partial pressure(s) is not yet given, and the amount
of substance of gases are used instead of pressure, each partial pressure can be
obtained using this formula:
𝑃𝑛 = 𝑚𝑓 • 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
where:
Pn = partial pressure of any gas
mf = mole fraction
• Consequently, the mole fraction (mf) can be obtained by:
𝑛
𝑚𝑓 =
𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
• where:
• n = amount of substance of a particular gas
• ntotal = total amount of substances of all gases
Dalton’s Law
• Ex. 8.
A mixture of gases has a total pressure of 3.5 atm. If gas A
contains 0.35 mol, gas B has 1.75 mol, gas C has 0.24 mol and gas D
has 0.16 mol, calculate the partial pressure of all gases in the mixture.

• In this problem, all partial pressure is unknown. The total pressure

however is given. To calculate, we will use the formula:

Pn = mf • Ptotal
Dalton’s Law
• We will first calculate for the mole fraction of all gases.
Dalton’s Law
• Then, all mole fractions will be multiplied by the total
pressure to obtain the partial pressure of each gas.
• The solution and final answers are as follows:
Graham’s Law
• It was discovered by Scottish chemist Thomas
Graham. According to this gas law, gases have
different rates of effusion. (Effusion is the process in
which gas pass through a small opening) The molar
mass of the gases affects the rate of effusion. The
heavier the gas, the slower the rate and vice-versa.
Graham’s Law

𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝐴 𝑚𝑚𝐵
=
𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝐵 𝑚𝑚𝐴
• where:
• rateA = rate of effusion of gas A
• rateB = rate of effusion of gas B
• mmA = molar mass of gas A
• mmB = molar mass of gas B
Graham’s Law
• Ex. 9. He and Ne will effuse from a container. Which gas will effuse faster and at
what rate?

• In this problem, we have to identify the molar masses of the gases. The lighter
the molar mass, the faster the effusion. B determining the molar mass, we can
now answer the first question.

• Gas A = He = 4 g/mol
• Gas B = Ne = 20 g/mol

• He is lighter so it will effuse faster. But at what rate? We can determine the rate
by using the equation for Graham’s Law. Since we do not know the rates yet,
we can simplify the equation as:
Graham’s Law Example
Graham’s Law
• To interpret the calculated rate, it means that He effuses 2.24 times
1
faster than Ne. Consecutively, Ne effuses times slower than He.
2.24