Mastering Gas Behavior

PV = nRT

Pressure of the gas

Volume of the container holding the gas

Number of moles of gas

Ideal gas constant (the same for all gases)

Temperature of the gas

The first assumption is that the molecules of a gas make up a negligible amount of the total volume of that gas. The second assumption is that the attraction between the molecules of a gas is also negligible.

Compression of a gas decreases the volume inside the container, making the molecules more significant in terms of the amount of space they're taking up relative to the overall space of that container. The compression also forces the gas molecules closer to each other, increasing their attraction to each other.

To account for the volume of gas molecules, the variable for volume is adjusted to V-nb, where n is the number of molecules in moles and b is a constant specific to each gas representing the volume one mole of particles from that gas occupies.

The modified equation allows for a more accurate description of gas behavior under not-so-ideal conditions, such as high pressures and densities or low temperatures, by accounting for the volume and attraction of gas molecules.

The purpose of the van der Waals equation is to account for the volume and attraction of gas molecules under extreme conditions.

The constants 'a' and 'b' are different for each gas because different gases have different size molecules and different degrees of attraction to each other.

The ideal gas law works under ideal conditions where the attractive forces of the gas molecules and the volume of those molecules are negligible.

We need to use the van der Waals equation instead of the ideal gas law under extreme conditions, such as very high pressures or very low temperatures, where the volume and attraction of the gas molecules become significant.

Johannes van der Waals is a Dutch scientist who developed the van der Waals equation to account for the limitations of the ideal gas law.

The van der Waals equation differs from the ideal gas law by considering the volume and attraction of gas molecules, which are assumed to be negligible in the ideal gas law.

The van der Waals equation allows us to understand and calculate gas behavior in non-ideal conditions, where the assumptions of the ideal gas law do not hold.