Texas A&M University (TAMU) CHEM107 General Chemistry for Engineering Students Exam 2 Practice

When pressure is increased while keeping the temperature constant, the distance between gas molecules decreases. This phenomenon is explained by Boyle's Law, which states that for a given mass of gas at a constant temperature, the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional to its volume.

As the pressure increases, the volume decreases, leading gas molecules to be forced closer together. When the volume of the container holding the gas decreases due to increased pressure, the space available for the gas molecules to move also decreases, causing them to be closer to each other.

In this scenario, while temperature remains constant, the average kinetic energy of the gas molecules does not change; hence, the speed of the gas molecules remains the same. Therefore, the correct understanding of this situation is that the increased pressure leads to a decrease in the average distance between gas molecules.