Final answer:
An ideal gas is a hypothetical substance that behaves independently of attractive forces and can be described by the ideal gas law. Real gases can behave ideally under specific conditions of low pressure and high temperature.
Step-by-step explanation:
An ideal gas is a hypothetical gaseous substance whose behavior is independent of attractive and repulsive forces and can be completely described by the ideal gas law.
In reality, there is no such thing as an ideal gas, but an ideal gas is a useful conceptual model that allows us to understand how gases respond to changing conditions. Under certain conditions, most real gases exhibit behavior that closely approximates that of an ideal gas.
Real gases behave ideally when:
- The intermolecular attractions between gas molecules are negligible.
- The gas molecules themselves do not occupy an appreciable part of the whole volume.
- The gas is at a low pressure and high temperature.