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This document describes the properties of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and presents ideal gas law, unit conversion and gas dilution theory to support gas sampling issues in CO₂ measurements.

What is CO₂?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a colorless gas consisting of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. CO₂ exists in gas state above -78.5°C and in solid state (dry ice) below -78.5°C. CO₂ changes from solid to gas by sublimation In nature, plants use CO₂ in photosynthesis, where CO₂ and water are combined using sun light as energy to produce sugars (and oxygen). The reaction can be written in a general form as shown in Figure 1.

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