Question

The distinction between atoms and molecules was made by ________.

Answer 1

Avogadro’s law:

• Avogadro’s Law is basically known as a gas law; which states that under the same pressure and temperature conditions, equal volumes of all gases contain the same number of molecules.
• Also according to this law, the number of molecules in a specific volume of an ideal gas is independent of size or the gas’ molar mass.
• The specific number of molecules present in 1 mole of a substance, is calculated to be $6.02214076\times {10}^{23}$, which is called Avogadro’s number or the Avogadro’s constant.

The distinction between atoms and molecules:

• The smallest unit of an element that can or cannot exist freely is known as an atom, whereas, a molecule is defined as a set of atoms that are held together with the help of a bond and is known as the smallest unit of a compound.
• Avogadro’s law is used as a hypothesis to make a distinction between atoms and molecules.
• According to this law, the basic entities used in the having same volume are considered molecules and not atoms.

Thus, the distinction between atoms and molecules was made by Avogadro’s law.