Derivation from Ideal Gas Law

Derivation from Ideal Gas Law

Section 1: Understanding the Ideal Gas Law

  • The Ideal Gas Law is a principle that combines several gas laws that were historically stated separately.
  • It is expressed as PV = nRT, where P is the pressure, V the volume, n the number of moles of gas, R the gas constant, and T the temperature.
  • It assumes gases exhibit ideal behaviour, meaning they follow this law at all temperature and pressure conditions.
  • This law indicates that volume is directly proportional to the amount of gas and temperature, and inversely proportional to the pressure.

Section 2: Deviations from the Ideal Gas Law

  • Real gases deviate from the Ideal Gas Law due to the interactions between molecules and the finite size of gas particles.
  • At low temperatures or high pressures, these interactions and volumes become significant, causing the Real gas to deviate from ideal behaviour.
  • For instance, a real gas condenses to a liquid at low temperatures, unlike an ideal gas which according to the ideal gas law, should not liquify irrespective of how cold or pressurised it is.
  • At high-pressure conditions, the volume of a Real gas is more than that predicted by the Ideal Gas Law because of repulsive interactions amongst gas molecules.

Section 3: The van der Waals Equation

  • The van der Waals equation accounts for these deviations by incorporating the size of the gas particles and interparticle attractions into the Ideal Gas Law.
  • It is expressed as [P + a(n/v)²] (V-nb) = nRT, where a and b are specific constants for each gas, and other symbols carry their usual meanings.
  • In this equation, a accounts for the attractions between particles, while b is the volume occupied by one mole of the gas molecules.
  • By considering the finite size of particles and their mutual attractions, the van der Waals equation provides a more accurate description of the behaviour of real gases.

Section 4: Importance of Ideal Gases and Real Gases Understanding

  • Understanding the concepts of Ideal Gases and Real Gases helps in comprehending the principles of various natural phenomena and man-made systems such as weather patterns, tyre pressure, and aerosol sprays.
  • It also aids in understanding how deviations from ideal gas behaviour occur and how the properties of a gas change with different conditions.