What happens when a gas expands at constant temperature?
Answer Details
When a gas expands at constant temperature, its pressure decreases. This is due to the fact that the gas molecules now have more space to move around, and as a result, they collide with the walls of the container less frequently, causing the pressure to decrease.
However, the total momentum of the gas molecules remains constant. This is because momentum is a conserved quantity, and the gas molecules only transfer their momentum to other molecules or to the walls of the container. Therefore, the total momentum of the gas remains the same, even though the individual molecules may have different speeds and directions.
Option (C) is correct, as it correctly identifies both of these phenomena. Option (D) is incorrect, as the total kinetic energy of the gas molecules does not necessarily decrease when the gas expands at constant temperature. While individual molecules may lose kinetic energy due to collisions, others may gain kinetic energy due to the same collisions.