Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A deep diver breathes a mixture of helium and oxygen by moles, at a total pressure of . At the Henry's law constants in water are for helium and for oxygen. How many millimoles of each gas dissolve in of water? Use of water in .
Henry's law: , where is the mole fraction of the gas in the solution. has the unit of pressure, and a larger means a smaller solubility. In a weak water solution, the moles of gas in of water are . Heating lowers the solubility of a gas.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Partial pressures. Helium: . Oxygen: .
Step 2. Helium. . In of water that is .
Step 3. Oxygen. , which is .
Answer: of helium and of oxygen.
What does it show? The helium has four times the partial pressure of the oxygen, yet about the same amount dissolves. Helium is much less soluble, so it adds little dissolved gas to the blood.
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