with an atmosphere at pressure of 700mmHg. It turns out that 70% of this atmosphere....

Question

Elon Musk’s Martian Expedition discovers a huge underground chamber with an atmosphere at pressure of 700mmHg. It turns out that 70% of this atmosphere is nitrogen, 25% is carbon dioxide and the rest oxygen. What is the partial pressure of nitrogen? All answers in mmHg.

Answer 1

Partial pressure is the pressure exerted by one component in a gaseous mixture. Since 70% of the atmosphere is nitrogen and the total pressure is 700 mmHg, PP N2 is (0.7)(700mmHg) = 490 mmHg