Which of the following is NOT a way to increase the pressure of a gas in a closed container?

• A. Increase the temperature of the gas
• B. Decrease the amount of gas in the container
• C. Decrease the volume of the container
• D. Add more gas molecules to the container

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall the Ideal Gas Law, which relates pressure (P), volume (V), temperature (T), and amount of gas (n): \(P \times V = n \times R \times T\), where \(R\) is the gas constant.
2. Understand that pressure is directly proportional to the amount of gas (\(n\)) and temperature (\(T\)), and inversely proportional to volume (\(V\)) when other variables are held constant.
3. Analyze each option: Increasing temperature (\(T\)) increases pressure because molecules move faster and collide more frequently with container walls.
4. Decreasing volume (\(V\)) increases pressure because the same number of molecules occupy a smaller space, leading to more frequent collisions.
5. Adding more gas molecules (\(n\)) increases pressure because more particles collide with the container walls. Conversely, decreasing the amount of gas (\(n\)) would decrease pressure, so this is NOT a way to increase pressure.