Which gas would be expected to behave most ideally at room temperature?

Correct answer: A. Helium

  • A. Helium
  • B. Ammonia
  • C. Water vapour
  • D. Carbon dioxide

Explanation

Helium is a small non polar monatomic gas with very weak dispersion forces and negligible molecular volume, so it comes closest to the ideal model. Ammonia and water vapour are strongly hydrogen bonded and deviate considerably. Carbon dioxide, being larger and more polarisable, also departs more than helium.

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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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