Question

Air freshener is sprayed from a bottle. The molecules spread throughout the room and cannot make their way back into the bottle. Why is this the case?

a) Due to an increase in pressure.

b) Due to an increase in entropy.

c) Due to a decrease in temperature.

d) Due to a decrease in volume.

Answer 1

When air freshener is sprayed from a bottle, the molecules spread throughout the room and do not make their way back into the bottle. This is because the process involves a greater dispersal of matter and an input of energy to disrupt the intermolecular forces between the gas molecules in the canister.

Step-by-step explanation:

This process entails both a greater and more uniform dispersal of matter as the compressed air in the canister is permitted to expand into the lower-pressure air of the room.

The process also requires an input of energy to disrupt the intermolecular forces between the closely-spaced gas molecules that are originally compressed into the container.

If you were to touch the nozzle of the canister, you would notice that it is cold because the exiting molecules are taking energy away from their surroundings, and the canister is part of the surroundings.