Partial Pressures of Atmosphere

Question

Air pressure on the top of Mauna Loa, a 13,000ft mountain in Hawaii, is 460 mmHG. What are the partial pressures of O₂ and N₂ , which compose 21% and 70% of the atmosphere, respectively.

Answer 1

Dalton law of partial pressures says that the total pressure is the sum of all partial pressures. Here your given the total pressure atop the mountain and the ratios or percentages of both oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. The added information about the height is irrelevant to the problem. If the given total pressure in millimeters of mercury is given use the percentages to find the exact partial pressures of nitrogen and oxygen in milliliters of mercury. Hope this helps. Have fun:)