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Multiple Choice
Which of the following best describes the result of increasing the number of gas particles in a rigid container at constant temperature according to the ideal gas law?
A
The pressure inside the container decreases.
B
The pressure inside the container increases.
C
The temperature of the gas decreases.
D
The volume of the container increases.
Verified step by step guidance
1
Recall the ideal gas law, which is given by the equation \(P \times V = n \times R \times T\), where \(P\) is pressure, \(V\) is volume, \(n\) is the number of moles of gas, \(R\) is the ideal gas constant, and \(T\) is temperature.
Identify the conditions given in the problem: the container is rigid, so the volume \(V\) is constant, and the temperature \(T\) is also constant.
Since \(V\) and \(T\) are constant, the ideal gas law can be rearranged to show the relationship between pressure \(P\) and number of moles \(n\): \(P = \frac{n \times R \times T}{V}\).
From this equation, observe that pressure \(P\) is directly proportional to the number of moles \(n\) when volume and temperature are held constant.
Therefore, increasing the number of gas particles (which increases \(n\)) will cause the pressure inside the rigid container to increase.