The universal gas law, represented by PV = nRT, applies to which condition?

The universal gas law, represented by the equation PV = nRT, is a fundamental relationship in chemistry that describes how the pressure (P), volume (V), and temperature (T) of an ideal gas relate to the number of moles (n) of gas present and the ideal gas constant (R). This equation is derived under the assumption that the gas behaves ideally, which means that the molecules do not interact with each other, and the volume of the gas particles themselves is negligible compared to the volume of the container they occupy.

The law is most applicable under conditions where gases are at relatively low pressures and high temperatures. Under these conditions, real gases tend to behave similarly to ideal gases, making the universal gas law an excellent approximation for their behavior. Ideal gases follow this law perfectly, while real gases diverge from it under high pressures and low temperatures due to intermolecular forces and the finite volume of gas particles.

In summary, since the universal gas law is based on the behavior of ideal gases, the correct understanding is that it applies mainly to ideal gases, making this answer accurate and consistent with the fundamentals of gas behavior in physical chemistry.