At which of the following conditions will a sample of neon gas behave most like an ideal gas?

• A. Low temperature and low pressure
• B. Low temperature and high pressure
• C. High temperature and high pressure
• D. High temperature and low pressure

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall that an ideal gas is a hypothetical gas whose particles do not interact and occupy no volume. Real gases behave most like ideal gases under conditions where intermolecular forces and molecular volume are negligible.
2. Understand that at high temperatures, gas particles have more kinetic energy, which helps overcome intermolecular attractions, making the gas behave more ideally.
3. Recognize that at low pressures, gas particles are far apart, so the volume of individual gas particles and intermolecular forces have less effect, again favoring ideal gas behavior.
4. Combine these insights: high temperature increases particle energy, and low pressure reduces particle interactions and volume effects, both promoting ideal gas behavior.
5. Therefore, the condition where neon gas behaves most like an ideal gas is at high temperature and low pressure.