Question

The actual volume occupied by most gases at high pressures is larger than that predicted by the ideal gas law. This is because?

a) at high pressure the gas particles undergo more collisions.

b) the volume is inversely proportional to the pressure.

c) as the gas particles get closer together it is no longer possible to ignore the volume occupied by the particles themselves.

d) at infinite pressure the ideal gas law predicts the gases have no volume.

e) as pressure increases the volume increases.

Answer 1

The ideal gas law states that the pressure of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to the volume. The ideal gas law assumes the gas particles as point masses and the particles are assumed to have no volume. However, real gases have finite mass and size and occupy some volume. At high pressures, the gas molecules are forced to come in close contact and the volume exerted by the molecules can no longer be neglected. Infact, the gas molecules occupy a significant volume at high pressures and hence (c) is the correct option.