- (12 points) A submarine has two rooms. Room A has a volume of 45,000 L and is filled with 22 atm pure helium (He) gas. Room B has a volume of 25,000 and is filled with 3.4 atm of pure oxygen (02) gas.
Humans suffer irreversible damage at pressures above (aprox) 20 atm and require a partial pressure of oxygen at least 0.16 atm to breathe. Breathing oxygen at a pressure of greater than 1.6 atm results in oxygen poisoning.
A person could not survive the atmosphere of either room. Opening the door connecting the two rooms allows the gases to form a mixture.
- After the door opens, what is the partial pressure of oxygen?
- After the door opens, what is the total pressure a person would feel in either room? (HINT: Dalton’s Law)
