Which of the following is NOT an assumption of the kinetic molecular theory of gases?

• A. The volume of individual gas particles is negligible compared to the total volume of the container.
• B. Gas particles experience strong attractive and repulsive forces.
• C. Gas particles are in constant, random motion.
• D. Collisions between gas particles are perfectly elastic.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Review the basic assumptions of the kinetic molecular theory (KMT) of gases, which describe the behavior of ideal gases.
2. Recall that one key assumption is that gas particles have negligible volume compared to the container, meaning their size is very small relative to the space they occupy.
3. Another assumption is that gas particles are in constant, random motion, moving in straight lines until they collide with either the container walls or other particles.
4. The theory also assumes that collisions between gas particles are perfectly elastic, meaning no kinetic energy is lost during collisions.
5. Understand that the assumption stating gas particles experience strong attractive and repulsive forces contradicts KMT, which assumes these forces are negligible, making this the statement that is NOT an assumption of the kinetic molecular theory.