How does increased pressure affect the solubility of a gas in a liquid according to Henry's Law?

According to Henry's Law, the solubility of a gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas above the liquid. This principle indicates that as the pressure of the gas increases, the amount of gas that can dissolve in the liquid also increases. This is because a higher pressure pushes more gas molecules into the liquid, leading to a greater concentration of dissolved gas.

This relationship is critical in various environmental scenarios, such as in aquatic systems where gases like oxygen or carbon dioxide dissolve into water, supporting aquatic life and influencing chemical reactions. The law is typically expressed mathematically as ( C = k_H \times P ), where ( C ) is the solubility of the gas, ( k_H ) is Henry's law constant for the gas at a given temperature, and ( P ) is the partial pressure of the gas. This clear linkage between pressure and solubility confirms that increased pressure results in increased solubility for gases in liquids.