Under which set of conditions would xenon (Xe) behave most like an ideal gas?

• A. Low temperature and low pressure
• B. High temperature and high pressure
• C. Low 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, and it follows the ideal gas law \(PV = nRT\) perfectly.
2. Understand that real gases deviate from ideal behavior mainly due to intermolecular forces and the finite volume of gas particles, which become significant at high pressures and low temperatures.
3. Recognize that at high temperatures, gas particles have more kinetic energy, which helps overcome intermolecular attractions, making the gas behave more ideally.
4. Note that at low pressures, gas particles are far apart, so the volume of the particles themselves and intermolecular forces have less effect, promoting ideal gas behavior.
5. Combine these insights to conclude that xenon will behave most like an ideal gas under conditions of high temperature and low pressure.