General Chemistry - The Gaseous State

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to gases in chemistry, including gas laws, pressure measurement, and the behavior of real versus ideal gases.

Gas Pressure

The force exerted per unit area.

Boyle's Law

At constant temperature, the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its pressure.

Charles’s Law

At constant pressure, the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature.

Ideal Gas Law

A law relating pressure (P), volume (V), temperature (T), and moles (n) of an ideal gas by the equation PV = nRT.

Avogadro’s Law

Equal volumes of different gases at the same temperature and pressure have the same number of molecules.

Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures

The total pressure of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases.

Kinetic-Molecular Theory

Describes gases as molecules in constant random motion, where average kinetic energy relates to absolute temperature.

Effusion

The process by which gas flows through a small hole in a container.

Diffusion

The process whereby a gas spreads out through another gas to occupy the space uniformly.

Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP)

Reference conditions for gases: 0^{\circ}C (273.15 K) and 1 atm pressure.

Root-Mean Square (rms) Speed

The speed of a molecule with the average molecular kinetic energy.

Real Gases

Gases that don't follow ideal gas laws, especially at high pressures or low temperatures, due to molecular size and forces.

Van der Waals Equation

Modifies the ideal gas law to explain non-ideal behavior using constants 'a' and 'b'.

Mole Fraction

The ratio of the number of moles of one component to the total number of moles in a mixture.

Absolute Zero

The theoretical temperature (-273^{\circ}C) where a gas would have zero volume.