Question

If, at 298 K water is the solvent, and Henry’s law constant for CO2 is 1.67 kbar and the constant of argon is 40.3 kbar, which of the following statements is true?

(a) Argon is more soluble than CO2

(b) Argon is less soluble than CO2

(c) Argon is insoluble in water

(d) Argon and CO2 are equally soluble

This question was posed to me in my homework.

The doubt is from Solubility Solutions in portion Solutions of Chemistry – Class 12

Answer 1

Correct choice is (b) Argon is less soluble than CO2

The best explanation: Henry’s law is formulated asp = KH x X (mole fraction). From this, it is seen that as KH increases, mole fraction decreases in order to compensate the increase in partial pressure of the gas. Hence, higher the KH value lower is the solubility. Therefore, argon is less soluble in water than CO2 at 298 K.