Question

In van der Waals' equation of gaseous state, the constant 'b' is a measure of:

• A. volume occupied by the molecules
• B. intermolecular repulsion
• C. intermolecular attraction
• D. pressure correction

Answer 1

The correct option is A volume occupied by the molecules

van der Waals' equation for 1 mole of a real gas is $(p+\frac{a}{V^2})(V-b)=RT$

where b is the volume correction term. It arises due to the effective size of molecules.