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 volume of the container holding the gas is reduced, but the number of gas molecules remains constant. This means that the gas molecules have less space to move around, and the average intermolecular distance between them decreases. As the distance between the molecules decreases, the frequency of collisions between them increases. Thus, the correct answer is:
- Average intermolecular distance