Standard state pressure

p=100,000 Pap^{\circ} = 100,000\ \text{Pa}
Value100,000 Pa
StatusExact by definition — no uncertainty
SourceIUPAC (1982); SI Brochure, 9th edition
CategoriesThermodynamicChemistry
in every pressure unit
pascal100,000 Pa
kilopascal100 kPa
megapascal0.1 MPa
bar1 bar
atmosphere0.98692327 atm
millimeter of mercury750.06158 mmHg
pound per square inch14.503774 psi
foot of water column33.455257 ft H₂O
gigapascal0.0001 GPa
kip per square inch0.014503774 ksi
inch of mercury29.529983 inHg
inch of water column401.46308 in w.g.

Learning zone

Every standard enthalpy of formation, standard entropy and equilibrium constant is quoted relative to a reference pressure, and since 1982 IUPAC's is exactly 1 bar = 100 000 Pa. The superscript degree symbol in ΔG° means "at p° = 1 bar", and the partial pressures inside an equilibrium constant are divided by it — which is why K is dimensionless.

Older tables use 1 atm = 101.325 kPa, a 1.3 % difference. For most reactions it shifts ΔG° by only tens of joules per mole, but it changes tabulated standard entropies of gases by R ln(1.01325) ≈ 0.109 J/(mol·K), enough to matter in precise work. Standard state fixes pressure only; the temperature is whatever the table says, conventionally 298.15 K.