Liquid water can be separated into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas through electrolysis. 11 mole of hydrogen gas and 0.5 moles of oxygen gas are produced from 11 mole of liquid water and are collected into separate containers of the same volume at the same temperature. Are the pressures of the gases equal? In one to two sentences, use the ideal gas law to explain your answer.

Answer 1

According to the ideal gas law (PV = nRT), at the same volume (V) and temperature (T), the pressure (P) of a gas is directly proportional to the number of moles (n). Since 11 moles of hydrogen gas and 0.5 moles of oxygen gas are present, the pressure of the hydrogen gas will be much greater than that of the oxygen gas, because the number of moles of hydrogen is significantly higher. Thus, the pressures of the gases are not equal.