Properties of Gases - Vocabulary Flashcards (Video)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the Properties of Gases video notes.

Gas

A state of matter that expands to fill its container, exerts pressure, flows, and is readily compressed and expanded; gases also diffuse to fill available space.

Pressure

Force per unit area exerted by gas molecules on container walls; results from molecular collisions; measured in atm, Pa, torr, mmHg.

Viscosity

Internal friction within a substance that resists flow; present in gases as a property affecting flow.

Compressibility

Property of gases that allows them to be readily compressed and expanded.

Diffusion

Spreading of gas molecules from areas of high concentration to areas of lower concentration until evenly distributed.

Kinetic energy

Energy of motion; in gases, most internal energy is kinetic and increases with temperature.

Temperature

Measure of average kinetic energy of gas molecules; higher temperature increases molecular speed and pressure at constant volume.

Avogadro's Law

Equal volumes of gases at the same temperature and pressure contain equal numbers of molecules; one mole occupies the same volume as one mole of any other gas under those conditions.

Mole

The amount of substance containing 6.022 x 10^23 elementary entities.

Molar Volume

At the same temperature and pressure, one mole of any gas occupies the same volume as one mole of any other gas.

Density (gas)

Mass per unit volume of a gas; heavy molecules yield high density; light molecules yield low density.

Gaseous Diffusion

Movement of gas molecules from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration, leading to even distribution.

Graham's Law

Rate of diffusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the square root of its gram molecular weight.

Gas Pressure

All gases exert pressure; pressure in liquids is often called tension; gravity can affect gas pressure.

Atmospheric Pressure

Pressure exerted by Earth's atmosphere; measured with a barometer.

Barometer

Instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure; a mercury barometer uses a ~1-meter evacuated tube inverted into a mercury reservoir.

Mercury

Liquid metal used in traditional barometers and many pressure-measuring devices.

Torr

Unit of pressure; 1 torr = 1 mmHg at sea level; named after Torricelli.

mmHg (Mercury millimeters)

Unit of pressure equal to the height of a mercury column; commonly used in barometric readings (equivalent to torr at sea level).

Aneroid Barometer

Mechanical pressure gauge using springs/pivots with no liquid; common in homes.

Manometer

Device that measures pressure using a liquid column, such as blood or airway pressure at the bedside.

Strain-gauge pressure transducer

Electronic device that converts applied pressure into an electrical signal.

Partial Pressure

Pressure exerted by a single gas within a gas mixture (P_gas).

Dalton's Law

Total pressure of a gas mixture equals the sum of its component partial pressures; each partial pressure is proportional to its fraction in the mixture.

Fractional concentration

Decimal representation of a gas's percentage in a mixture (e.g., 0.21 for 21% O2 in air).

Henry's Law

Amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is proportional to its partial pressure above the liquid; V = kH × Pgas.

Solubility coefficient (k_H)

Constant that relates the amount of dissolved gas to its partial pressure in Henry's Law.