Question

Which statement describes the particles of an ideal gas based on the kinetic molecular theory?

(1) The gas particles are relatively far apart and have negligible volume.
(2) The gas particles are in constant, nonlinear motion.
(3) The gas particles have attractive forces between them.
(4) The gas particles have collisions without transferring energy.

Answer 1

A. They are far apart and have negligible volume. This makes it easier to calculate certain quantities such as temperature, pressure, and volume. If the gas particle volume is added, then the complex van der Waals equation has to be used to calculate these same quantities. We also assume that they are far apart because this implies that they will not collide.

Answer 2

The particles are in a constant nonlinear motion.