The van der Waals equation accounts for the deviation of real gases from ideal gases. Identify which of the following statements is correct. The deviation from ideal behaviour:

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To evaluate the statements about the van der Waals deviation from ideal gas behavior, we recall the key idea: the a parameter (attractions) lowers the pressure relative to ideal at low densities, while the b parameter (finite molecular volume) becomes important at high densities, i.e., high pressures.
Option a: 'at both low and high pressures is due to the finite volume of atoms/molecules' This is not accurate because the finite volume correction (b) mainly affects high-pressure (high-density) behavior by reducing the available volume, whereas the low-pressure deviation is primarily due to intermolecular attractions (a term that lowers pressure). So attributing deviations at both regimes to finite volume alone misstates the mechanism, making this option incorrect.
Option b: 'at lower pressures is due to the finite volume of atoms/molecules, and at higher pressures is due to intermolecular attractions' The direction of the causes is swapped compared with the established interpretation. Finite volume matters more as molecules are squeezed closer (high pressure), while attractions govern the low-pressure deviation. Therefore this option is incorrect.
Option c: 'at low pressure is due to intermolecular attractions' This aligns with the standard understanding: at low densities, attractive forces reduce the observed pressure compared with the ideal gas prediction, so the deviation arises from intermolecular attractions. This statement is correct.
Option d: 'deviation is significant (>10%) for gases at atmospheric pressure' In practice, for many gases at 1 atm the deviations predicted by van der Waals corrections are relatively small, and a deviation exceeding 10% is not generally expected under standard conditions. Hence this claim is not generally valid and is incorrect.

The van der Waals equation accounts for the deviation of real gases from ideal gases. Identify which of the following statements is correct. The deviation from ideal behaviour:Single choice

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