In the context of gas stoichiometry, to pull a vacuum means to ____.

• A. remove most or all of the gas from a container, creating a region of very low pressure
• B. add a gas to a container until it reaches atmospheric pressure
• C. increase the temperature of a gas to expand its volume
• D. compress a gas into a smaller volume at constant temperature

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the term 'pull a vacuum' in the context of gases: it refers to the process involving pressure changes inside a container.
2. Recall that pressure is related to the amount of gas particles in a given volume; reducing the number of gas particles lowers the pressure.
3. Recognize that 'pulling a vacuum' means removing gas molecules from a container, which decreases the pressure significantly below atmospheric pressure.
4. Compare this with other options: adding gas increases pressure, increasing temperature at constant volume raises pressure, and compressing gas at constant temperature increases pressure by reducing volume.
5. Conclude that 'pulling a vacuum' specifically means removing most or all gas from a container to create a region of very low pressure.