Question

A newly discovered planet has an atmospheric pressure of 900 mm/Hg. The oxygen concentration is 18%. What is the pO2? Would that level of O2 be adequate for human respiration? why or why not?

Answer 1

Given,

The atmospheric pressure of newly discovered planet(P_atm)=900mm/Hg

Oxygen concentration=18% = 0.18

The partial pressure of any gas can be calculated by following formula

P_gas= (P_atm) × (gas percent content in mixture) i.e

PO₂ = (P_atm) × (Oxygen percentage in mixture)

PO_{2 =} 900mm/Hg × 0.18 =136.8 =137 mm/Hg

Therefore the partial pressure p02 at this planet is 137 mm/Hg

This level of pO2 be adequate for human respiration because the normal breathing range of pO2 is 80-100 mm/Hg.