Which of the following decreases when a given mass of gas is compressed to half its initial volume?
Answer Details
When a given mass of gas is compressed to half its initial volume, the average intermolecular distance decreases. This is because when the volume of the gas is decreased, the molecules are brought closer together, which leads to a decrease in the average distance between them. The frequency of collisions between the gas particles will increase as they are closer together, and the number of molecules present in the gas will remain the same, as the mass of the gas has not changed. The atomic radius of each particle also remains the same, as compression does not affect the size of individual gas particles.