Partial pressure definition

[Yolandia Winn 1A]

Why is partial pressure called "partial" pressure? Where is the other part? Lol

EDIT: Thanks all great responses I get it now lol!

[Chem_Mod]

The other part of the partial pressure is the other parts of the gas mixture. So for air, we could take the partial pressure of the oxygen or the partial pressure of the nitrogen etc.

[Stephanie H]

I found the definition of partial pressure in the textbook, it is "the pressure that a gas in a mixture would exert if it alone occupied the container."
I think "partial" is mentioned because we are considering a combination of gases in a reaction and each gas is a part of the whole (reaction). Hope this helps!

[Sarah_Wilen]

Partial pressure is the pressure that would be exerted by one of the gases in a mixture of gases by itself.

For example, our atmosphere is composed of a mixture of gases. To name some there is nitrogen and oxygen gas. I don't know the exact number, but for an example, let's say we trapped atmosphere in a jar. The pressure of the mixture of gases would be 760 mmHg. You are told that the partial pressure of oxygen is 152 mmHg. What is the partial pressure of nitrogen? Well, how do we figure that out? Simple, we subtract the partial pressure of the oxygen from the total pressure of the whole mixture of gases to obtain the partial pressure of nitrogen. 760 mmHg-152 mmHg=608 mmHg. The partial pressure of nitrogen is 608 mmHg in this mixture.


Lol indeed
Good question