alleryStart learning →The van der Waals equation reduces to PV = nRT under which condition?
ALarge volume with few moles present
BSmall volume with many moles present
CLow temperature and high pressure
DZero volume for the molecules only
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Large volume with few moles present
1. The two corrections are n times b for volume and n squared a over V squared for pressure.
2. A small number of moles makes both terms small, since each carries n in the numerator.
3. A large volume shrinks the pressure correction further, because V is squared in its denominator.
4. With both corrections negligible the equation collapses back to PV = nRT.
5. Few moles spread through a large volume is simply a description of a gas at low pressure, which is where ideal behaviour is expected.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry (CC BY 4.0), Ch 9 "Gases", section 9.6 Non-Ideal Gas Behavior_
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