Question 12

State Henry's law and mention some important applications?

Answer

Henry’s law states that the mass of a gas dissolved per unit volume of the solvent at a given temperature is proportional to the pressure of the gas in equilibrium with the solution.

Or

It also states that the pressure of a gas over a solution in which the gas is dissolved is proportional to the mole fraction of the gas dissolved in the solution.



The important applications of Henry’s law are as follows:

1) In the production of carbonated beverages-in order to increase the solubility of CO2 in cold drinks,beer etc., the bottle are sealed under high pressure. When the bottle is opened under normal atmospheric pressure, the pressure inside the bottle falls to atmospheric pressure & the excess CO2 bubbles out of the bottle causing effervescence.

2) At high altitudes-the partial pressure of oxygen at high altitudes is less than the ground level. This results in low concentration of oxygen in the blood & tissues of the peoples.

3) In scuba diving- during scuba diving,when the diver breaths in compressed air from the supply tank, more nitrogen dissolves in the blood & other body fluids because the pressure at that depth is far greater than the surface atmospheric pressure.

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