The Henry's law constant at 25 °C for CO₂ in water is 0.035 M/atm. What is the solubility of CO₂, in molarity units, in 1.0 L of water when the partial pressure of CO₂ is 1.5 atm?

Question

The Henry's law constant at 25 °C for CO₂ in water is 0.035 M/atm. What is the solubility of CO₂, in molarity units, in 1.0 L of water when the partial pressure of CO₂ is 1.5 atm?

Answer 1

Henry's Law tells us that the solubility of a gas is dependent on and is proportional to the partial pressure of the gas above the liquid. The proportionality factor is known as Henry's constant and the equation can be written as...

C = kP

C = concentration in moles/L (M)

k = Henry's constant

p = partial pressure of the gas

C = 0.035 M/atm (1.5 atm)

C= 0.0525 M = 0.053 M (2 sig. figs.)