Chapter 5.4, Problem 5.10BFP

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The mole percent of $\text{He}$ in a tank of trimix that is the breathing mixture of $\text{He}$, ${\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ and ${\text{N}}_{\text{2}}$ is to be calculated.

Concept introduction:

Partial pressure is related to total pressure and mole fraction by the equation as follows:

$P_{\text{A}}=\left(P_{\text{total}}\right)\left(X_{\text{A}}\right)$        (1)

Here,

$P_{\text{A}}$ is the partial pressure of the gas.

$P_{\text{total}}$ is the total pressure of the gas.

$X_{\text{A}}$ is the mole fraction of gas.

The mole percent of gas can be calculated by the equation as follows:

$X_{\text{A}}\left(100\%\right)=\left(\frac{P_{\text{A}}}{P_{\text{total}}}\right)\left(100\%\right)$        (2)