Chapter 1: The Ideal Gas Equation

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts from the lecture on gas dynamics and the derivation of the ideal gas law.

Pressure

The force per area exerted on a surface, such as the inside of a balloon, caused by gazillions of particles bouncing off the walls of the container.

Temperature

A measure of the average energy, specifically the average kinetic energy, per particle within a system.

Moles ($n$)

A unit representing the number of particles on the molecular scale, where $1$ mole is equal to approximately $6 \times 10^{23}$ particles.

Volume ($V$)

The size of the container; it is inversely proportional to pressure because a smaller space causes particles to hit the walls more frequently with more force per area.

Ideal Gas Equation

The formula $PV = nRT$, which describes the relationship between pressure, volume, the number of particles, a constant, and temperature.

Ideal Gas

A theoretical gas where molecules do not attract or repel each other and the individual volume of each particle is considered inconsequential.

$$R$$

A proportionality constant in the ideal gas equation used to ensure units, such as temperature in $\text{Kelvin}$ and energy in $\text{joules}$, work out correctly.