Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures

pressure

P

1

10

pressure

P

2

20

Dalton's law of partial pressures states that the total pressure

P

3

of a mixture of gases (the last tank in the picture) is equal to the sum

P

1

+

P

2

of partial pressures exerted by each component gas (the first two tanks). This represents the limit of ideal behavior. Deviations can occur at higher pressures.