Ideal Gases vs. Real Gases

Flashcards covering key definitions and concepts regarding ideal gases, real gases, and the conditions under which real gases behave ideally or deviate from ideal behavior.

Ideal Gas

A hypothetical gas that obeys all gas laws under all conditions of temperature and pressure, characterized by identical particles with zero volume, no intermolecular forces, and perfectly elastic collisions.

Real Gas

A gas that deviates from ideal gas behavior, with particles that possess volume, experience energy loss during collisions, and have intermolecular forces.

Conditions for Real Gases to Behave Like Ideal Gases

High temperature and low pressure.

Conditions for Real Gases to Deviate from Ideal Gas Behavior

Low temperature and high pressure.

Repulsive Intermolecular Forces (High Pressure)

Forces that become noticeable when real gas particles are forced very close together at high pressure, causing the gas volume not to decrease as expected and leading to deviation from ideal behavior.

Attractive Intermolecular Forces (Low Temperature)

Forces that increase when the kinetic energy of real gas molecules decreases at low temperatures, leading to condensation into liquids and a lower-than-predicted pressure.

Elastic Collision

A collision where the total kinetic energy of the colliding particles or objects is conserved, meaning there is no energy loss before and after the collision.

Deviation from Boyle's Law

Occurs at high pressures for real gases where the volume does not decrease as expected, due to the presence of repulsive intermolecular forces.

Gas Condensation

The process by which a gas turns into a liquid, which happens for real gases at very low temperatures due to strong attractive intermolecular forces, a behavior not accounted for in ideal gas models.