A real gas obeying vander waals equation will resemble the ideal gas if_______________________?

Correct answer: A. Both a and b are small

  • A. Both a and b are small
  • B. Both a and b are large
  • C. a is small and b is large
  • D. a is large and b is small

Explanation

In the van der Waals equation, a represents intermolecular attraction and b represents the volume occupied by gas molecules. A gas approaches ideal behaviour when both corrections are negligible, so both a and b should be small. The likely mistake is choosing both large, confusing large correction constants with ideal behaviour.

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About Real and Ideal Gases

An ideal gas is modelled as particles with negligible volume and no intermolecular attraction, obeying Boyle's, Charles's and Avogadro's laws through PV = nRT. Real gases deviate from this behaviour, especially at high pressure and low temperature, because particle volume and attractive forces matter; the van der Waals equation explains these corrections.

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