An ideal gas cannot be...
A. condensed
B. cooled
C. heated
D. compressed
If it were condensed it would be a liquid, not a gas.
The correct answer is A. condensed.
To understand why an ideal gas cannot be condensed, we first need to understand the properties of an ideal gas. An ideal gas is a theoretical concept that follows certain assumptions:
1. Particles: An ideal gas is composed of a large number of very small particles, such as atoms or molecules.
2. Size: The individual particles of an ideal gas are considered to have negligible size.
3. Interactions: The particles of an ideal gas do not interact with each other, except through perfectly elastic collisions.
4. Energy: An ideal gas has particles that have kinetic energy but no potential energy.
5. Volume: An ideal gas does not occupy any volume, meaning the gas particles do not take up any space.
Given these assumptions, an ideal gas cannot be condensed. Condensation is a phase transition in which a substance changes from a gas to a liquid state. Condensation occurs when the intermolecular forces (attractions between the particles) become strong enough to overcome the kinetic energy of the gas particles, causing them to come closer together and form a liquid. However, because ideal gases do not interact with each other and have negligible size, they do not experience intermolecular forces and therefore cannot condense.
To further support this explanation, we can also consider the Ideal Gas Law, which relates the pressure, volume, temperature, and number of gas particles. The Ideal Gas Law can be written as:
PV = nRT
where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of gas particles (moles), R is the ideal gas constant, and T is the temperature. From this equation, it can be observed that for an ideal gas, the volume V can be decreased (compressed), resulting in an increase in pressure P. However, since ideal gases do not have intermolecular forces and negligible size, the particles cannot come close enough to each other to form a liquid (i.e., no condensation occurs).
Therefore, the correct answer is A. condensed.