Why gasses have no definite shape and volume?

Answer 1

A gas has no shape and volume because of the amount of energy it has. When you look at molecules of a gas, they are always bouncing off of each other, not really forming bonds with each other. Liquids and solids have less energy so they form bonds, even if they are weak ones.

It is because as the atoms spread out, the amount of empty space in the gas increases.

Answer 2

Are you talking about gas you would put in a car? or things like air or noble gases? I will try to answer both.

As for gas you would put in a car:

It really depends on the size and temperature of the container.

The heat of vaporization of gas is low, so it will not typically remain as a liquid at room temperature. So, what will happen is the gas will continue to evaporate until the air is saturated and an equillibrium is reached between the gas and the vaporized gas in the air.

So if you put equal amounts of gas into a small and a large container, the large container will appear to have less gas than the small one. this is because more gas would have to evaporate in order to reach this equillibrium point.

As for things like air:

think of filling your typical water bottle (or any container) up with air and sealing it. then think about squeezing the container with your hands. you can change the volume of the container by doing so. But has the amount of air changed inside the container?

This is because the density of air is so low compared to that of solids and liquids that its density is more dependant on its surroundings than on itself.

Let me put it this way, in a gas there are no bonds between any of the particles/molecules that are floating around. so they can easily be manipulated and reshaped by their surroundings.

Answer 3

why gasses have no definite shape and volume?

gases doesn't have shape and volume because the distance between molecules of gases is very large and the force of attraction between them is very low.

Answer 4

The reason why a gas does not have a definite volume and a definite shape is because the atoms and molecules spread out when the amount of space between them increases. It is like when you blow a balloon, you need to blow hot air to increase the energy for the atoms and molecules to spread much farther apart from each other to make the balloon bigger.

All of this has to make the balloon float in the air. It makes perfect sense if you ask me.

Answer 5

Gas has no definite volume or shape because its atoms and/or molecules and/or ions that make it up are too spread apart in space. They have little to no interactions with each other, which prevents them from forming a cohesive shape. If captured in a closed container, a gas will spread out in the shape and volume of the container, but without one the volume of a gas cannot be measured and a definable shape cannot really be created.

Answer 6

The Molecules of the gas are very distant from each other so that they are free to move apart,so when kept in closed container,they occupy the shape of the vessel and dont have definite shape and volume

Answer 7

A gas is composed of a large number of very small particles, which (depending on the type of gas) are either molecules or atoms, and all of those particles move independently, bouncing around like tiny, perfectly elastic rubber balls that never stop bouncing.