Final answer:
At very low temperatures, the ratio PV ÷ nRT for a gas is less than 1, reflecting the fact that intermolecular attractions inhibit the movement of particles, causing a deviation from ideal gas behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering the behavior of gases under very low temperatures, it's important to understand how they deviate from the ideal gas law, which is represented by the equation PV = nRT. At low temperatures, intermolecular attractions become significant due to the proximity of the gas molecules.
As a result, these attractions reduce the number of collisions with the container walls, leading to a lower effective pressure than what the ideal gas law predicts. Therefore, PV ÷ nRT < 1, because particles at low temperatures are unable to overcome intermolecular attractions, which causes the gas to deviate from ideal behavior.Moreover, as real gases approach very low temperatures, intermolecular forces become pronounced and gases can condense into liquids, further deviating from ideal gas behavior.