The van der Waals equation corrects the ideal gas equation for

Correct answer: B. the finite volume of the molecules and the attractive forces between them

  • A. the mass of the container
  • B. the finite volume of the molecules and the attractive forces between them
  • C. the speed of the molecules
  • D. the colour of the gas

Explanation

The constant b subtracts the volume actually occupied by the molecules and the constant a adds back the pressure lost to intermolecular attraction, so the equation describes real gases far better. Larger values of a and b indicate a gas that departs further from ideality. As pressure falls towards zero the corrections vanish and the ideal equation is recovered.

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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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