REAL GASES AND IDEAL GASES

A gas that obeyed the ideal gas equation exactly under any conditions would be an ideal gas, but no actual gas perfectly conforms to the equation at all temperatures and pressures. Under the conditions of high temperatures and low pressures present over much of Earth’s surface, however, most real gases behave as ideal gases. Gases with boiling points below –173ºC (-279ºF), such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the noble gases, come closest to being ideal gases. Gases with relatively high boiling points, such as carbon dioxide, obey the gas laws only approximately.