Which assumptions of the kinetic–molecular theory explain the behavior of gases described by Boyle's law? Explain your answer.

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Accepted Answer

Welcome back, everyone. Which of the following postulates of kinetic molecular theory best describe spoils law. And we need to explain why we have choice. A which states that the postulate that best describes spoils law is gas particles, kinetic energy is proportional to the Kelvin temperature. Because this shows that the gas is greatly affected by the temperature. And choice B it states that the best postulate is that gas particles are always moving quickly and randomly. And this shows that the gas spontaneously mixes with other gasses. Whereas choice C states that the postulate that best describes Boyle's law is that gas particles occupy a much smaller amount of space than the amount of space between particles. And this is important because it shows that the gas can be compressed without the gas molecule interactions. And then we have choice D which states that the postulate that best describes Boyle's law is gas particles collisions are elastic, whether they are with other particles or the container of the wall because this shows that most of the potential energy is converted into gas pressure. So with these choices outlined, let's next recall, Boyle's law. So Boyle's law tells us that pressure is inversely related to volume at constant temperature. Now, we want to recall our following kinetic molecular theory postulates in which our first postulate covers the fact that the volume of space between our gas particles is going to be significantly greater than the volume of space occupied by our gas particles. And therefore, we can interpret that gasses are compressible without particle interactions. Now, our next postulate according to kinetic molecular theory that we should recall covers the fact that when it comes to collisions of gasses, they will indeed be elastic between our gas particles and other gas particles as well as between our gas particles and their container. And due to this, we have again, all elastic collisions. And therefore, due to that elasticity, we can say that the kinetic energy of our gas particles becomes converted into the partial pressure of our gas and sorry, this should say K E for kinetic energy of our gas particles. So now with this all outlined, let's look at our answer choices and we can understand that choice. A defines a relationship between kinetic energy being proportional to our Kelvin temperature. However, below, we outlined that kinetic energy is going to be directly proportional to the pressure of our gas. So A we would rule out we can also rule out choice B due to the fact that it says that according to our kinetic molecular theory postulates that we covered the spontaneity of our gasses mixing with one another is not involved. And it doesn't correlate to how we would validify Boyle's law. So B we can rule out and then next, we can look at choice D. And it again states that the best postulate that describes Boyle's law is that gas particle collisions are elastic, whether they are with other particles or with the container wall. And that this shows that most of the potential energy is converted into the gas pressure. And while this is a true statement, while this is a true and correct statement, we would ultimately rule out choice D because choice C we would say is most correct. Choice. C states that the postulate that best describes Boyle's law is that gas particles occupy a much smaller amount of space than the amount of space between particles. And this shows that our gasses can be compressed without molecular interactions. So this statement aligns with the, the inverse relationship that we outlined between pressure and volume for Boyle's law where due to the fact that the gas particles will occupy a smaller amount of space compared to the space between them, if we are even further decreasing the volume of our gasses, they will have less room to move around within their container. And thus, there will be even more collisions between our gasses and their container, ultimately increasing the pressure of our gasses. And so choice C would be the most correct and we would define it as our final answer to complete this example. So I hope that this made sense and let us know if you have any questions.

Which assumptions of the kinetic–molecular theory explain the behavior of gases described by Boyle's law? Explain your answer.

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Key Concepts

Kinetic-Molecular Theory

Boyle's Law

Assumptions of Gas Behavior