Gas exchange, the intake of molecular oxygen (O2) from the environment and the outflow of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment, is necessary for cellular function. Gas exchange during respiration occurs largely via the movement of gas molecules along pressure gradients. Gas travels from areas of higher partial pressure to areas of lower partial pressure. In mammals, gas exchange occurs in the alveoli of the lungs, which are adjacent to capillaries and share a membrane with them.

Thus far, the ideal gas law, PV = nRT, has been applied to a variety of different types of problems, ranging from reaction stoichiometry and empirical and molecular formula problems to determining the density and molar mass of a gas. However, the behavior of a gas is often non-ideal, meaning that the observed relationships between its pressure, volume, and temperature are not accurately described by the gas laws.

The ideal gas equation is an equation of state that relates the state variables pressure, volume, temperature, and the number of moles of a hypothetical gas. This equation is a combination of four empirical laws, namely Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law, Avogadro’s Law, and Gay-Lussac’s Law. When the proportionalities of the above four empirical laws are combined, it results in a single proportionality constant known as the universal gas constant.

The ideal gas law is an approximation that works well at high temperatures and low pressures. The van der Waals equation of state (named after the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals, 1837−1923) improves it by considering two factors.
First, the attractive forces between molecules, which are stronger at higher densities and reduce the pressure, are considered by adding to the pressure a term equal to the square of the molar density multiplied by a positive coefficient a. Second, the volume...

Gas behavior plays a vital role in understanding bodily processes such as external and internal respiration. External respiration involves the diffusion of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of it in the lungs. In contrast, internal respiration happens in body tissues, where these gases move in opposite directions.
Gas Laws Governing Respiration
The behavior of gases is guided by Dalton's Law of partial pressures and Henry's Law.
Dalton's Law asserts that the total pressure exerted by...

The ideal gas law is based on two simplifying assumptions: first, that there are no intermolecular attractions between gas molecules, and second, that the volume occupied by the molecules themselves is negligible compared with the volume of the container. However, these assumptions don't hold up under all conditions - specifically, at high pressures and low temperatures, as gas tends to deviate from ideal gas behavior.The van der Waals equation is an enhanced version of the ideal gas law,...