Why would a scientist have difficulty observing the behavior of an ideal gas in a laboratory setting?

• A. Because ideal gases are only found at extremely high pressures.
• B. Because real gases have intermolecular forces and occupy volume, unlike ideal gases.
• C. Because ideal gases are composed of molecules with strong attractive forces.
• D. Because ideal gases can only exist at temperatures below absolute zero.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the definition of an ideal gas: an ideal gas is a theoretical gas composed of many randomly moving point particles that interact only through elastic collisions, with no intermolecular forces and negligible volume.
2. Recognize that real gases differ from ideal gases because their molecules have finite volume and experience intermolecular forces such as attraction and repulsion.
3. Note that ideal gas behavior is an approximation that works best under conditions of low pressure and high temperature, where the effects of molecular volume and intermolecular forces are minimal.
4. Realize that in a laboratory setting, gases always exhibit some deviation from ideal behavior because molecules do occupy space and interact, making it difficult to observe a truly ideal gas.
5. Conclude that the difficulty arises because ideal gases are an idealization that does not exist perfectly in reality, due to the presence of intermolecular forces and finite molecular volume in real gases.