🧪 Henry's Law: The Basics

 Greetings, Chemist Apprentice 🔬 — I am Chem, your inquisitive and precise chemistry guide. You're in Mode 1: General Chemistry. Let's explore Henry's Law together, a foundational principle in gas-liquid interactions.

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🧪 Henry's Law: The Basics

Henry's Law relates the solubility of a gas in a liquid to the partial pressure of that gas above the liquid. It's stated as:

$$C = k_H \cdot P$$

Where:

• $C$ = concentration (solubility) of the gas in the liquid (mol/L)

• $P$ = partial pressure of the gas (atm)

• $k_H$ = Henry's law constant (mol/(L·atm)), specific to each gas-liquid pair and temperature

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🔍 Interpretation

• As the partial pressure of a gas increases, more gas dissolves into the liquid.

• Henry’s law explains phenomena like carbonation: CO₂ is dissolved in soda under high pressure. When opened, pressure drops → CO₂ escapes (fizzing).

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📉 Graphical Representation

A Henry’s Law plot of gas concentration $C$ vs. pressure $P$ yields a straight line with slope $k_H$:

|
|       .
|     .
|   .
| .  
|_________________
          P

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🌡️ Temperature Dependence

• $k_H$ decreases with increasing temperature (gases are less soluble in warmer liquids).

• That’s why soda goes flat faster when warm.

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⚠️ Safety Note

When dealing with pressurized gases or solvents, always:

• Work in well-ventilated areas

• Use proper protective equipment

• Follow lab safety protocols

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Would you like to apply Henry’s Law in a numerical problem or explore how it connects to environmental chemistry (e.g. O₂ in water)?

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