The Ideal Gas Law - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on the Ideal Gas Law, including state variables, units, constants, and the microscopic/macroscopic forms of the law.

Ideal Gas Law

PV = Nk_B T (microscopic form) or PV = nR T (macroscopic form); relates state variables for an ideal gas.

State Variables

P (pressure), V (volume), T (temperature), and N (number of particles) that define the condition of a system.

Pressure (P)

Force per unit area exerted on a surface; unit Pa (1 Pa = 1 N/m^2); a scalar quantity in gases from particle collisions with container walls.

Volume (V)

Space occupied by the gas; for gases, volume tends to fill the container.

Temperature (T)

Measure of thermal energy; absolute temperature in Kelvin is used in gas laws.

Number of Particles (N)

Total count of particles in a system; for gases usually molecules; related to moles by N = nN_A.

Mole (mol)

Amount of substance equal to Avogadro's number of particles (1 mol = 6.022 × 10^23 particles).

Avogadro's Number (N_A)

Number of entities per mole; N_A ≈ 6.022 × 10^23 mol⁻¹.

Boltzmann Constant (k_B)

Proportionality constant linking microscopic energy to temperature; k_B = 1.38 × 10⁻²³ J/K.

Universal Gas Constant (R)

Constant linking moles to energy in PV = nRT; R = 8.314 J/(K·mol).

Microscopic Form

PV = N k_B T; used when counting individual molecules.

Macroscopic Form

PV = n R T; used when counting moles.

Absolute Pressure

Total pressure including atmospheric pressure.

Gauge Pressure

Pressure above atmospheric pressure.

Atmospheric Pressure (1 atm)

Standard sea-level pressure; 1 atm = 1.013 × 10^5 Pa.

Pascal (Pa)

SI unit of pressure; 1 Pa = 1 N/m².

Ideal Gas Model

Model assuming no intermolecular forces, elastic collisions, point particles, and random motion.

Limitations of Ideal Gas Law

Breaks down for large expansions, container-dependent behavior, and real gases deviate due to volume and intermolecular forces.

Thought Experiment

Hypothetical scenario used to explore theory and visualize phenomena; used by Einstein to develop ideas.

N and n Relationship

N = n NA; n = N/NA; N_A is Avogadro's number.

Absolute Temperature (Kelvin)

Temperature scale used in gas laws; 0 K is absolute zero; T must be in Kelvin for PV = nRT.

High Temperature/Low Pressure Approximation

Under these conditions real gases behave more like ideal gases.