Using Raoult's law and Dalton's law

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the application of Raoult's law and Dalton's law in calculating the partial pressures of a component in a mixture, specifically in the context of an exercise for a Physical Chemistry exam. Participants explore the distinction between ideal and real partial pressures, considering the conditions of the problem.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, Sara, expresses confusion about how to derive real partial pressures using Raoult's law and Dalton's law, questioning whether both laws only yield ideal values.
  • Another participant suggests that if a better approximation is needed, activity calculations should be considered.
  • Sara later asserts that Raoult's law should provide real partial pressures while Dalton's law gives ideal values under NPT conditions, indicating a misunderstanding of the laws' applications.
  • A different participant challenges Sara's assertion, stating that Raoult's law primarily applies to ideal solutions and that for non-ideal solutions, Henry's Law should be used for solutes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit disagreement regarding the application of Raoult's law and Dalton's law, particularly in the context of ideal versus real partial pressures. There is no consensus on the correct approach to the problem presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of the original question's wording and context, suggesting that the ambiguity in the paraphrased problem may affect the interpretation of the laws involved.

softie
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Hi there!

I'm having a little problem here and hopefully someone here can help.
I am studying for a Physical Chemistry exam and there is an exercise here I just can't solve. It asks to find the ideal and the real parcial pressure of A, given xA, yA and pt ---- xA being the molar fraction of A in the liquid phase and yA the molar fraction of A in the gaseous phase.
I was thinking of using Raoult's law and Dalton's law, but don't they both give the ideal values of the partial pressure?? How can I get the real values?

Thanks! :)
sara
 
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Unless the question asks for a better approximation, it's referring to activity calculations.
 
thank you!

yes, that was my doubt, but it's not how it was supposed to be answered. the raoult law is supposed to give us the real partial pressure, and the dalton law the ideal one, because we are considering NPT conditions.

thanks anyway!

p.s.: I did 18.2 / 20 on that exam. :)
 
softie said:
yes, that was my doubt, but it's not how it was supposed to be answered. the raoult law is supposed to give us the real partial pressure, and the dalton law the ideal one, because we are considering NPT conditions.
No, that's not entirely correct. However, I can't tell you what to do with the question unless you post the original question EXACTLY as it appears in the exercise (and it doesn't hurt to include the book and chapter where this problem comes from). Your paraphrasing of it makes it very ambiguous.

But I can say this : Raoult's Law applies almost only to ideal solutions. For real solutions that deviate from ideality, you can still use Raoult's Law for the dominant component (ie: solvent) of a dilute solution. But for the solute in a non-ideal solution, you must use Henry's Law (and replace the vapor pressure of pure A with the Henry's Law constant).
 

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