Video Transcript
Which of the following represents
the container that holds particles at the greatest concentration? All the containers have equal
volumes.
To answer this question, let’s
start by thinking about the term “concentration.” Concentration is a measure of how
much of a substance is contained within a certain volume. For instance, if a large number of
gas particles is contained within a given volume, then that gas is at a greater
concentration than if a smaller number of particles were contained within the same
volume.
In this question, we’ve been given
four containers that are all the same volume and each contains some fluid
particles. Now, because the containers all
have the same volume, the container that holds the particles at the greatest
concentration is simply the container that holds the most particles. If we count the number of particles
in options (B), (C), and (D), we see that there are seven particles in each
container. Therefore, these containers all
hold the particles at the same concentration: seven particles per container.
Looking at these options, we might
notice that they appear somewhat different to each other. In option (C), the particles are
spread throughout the whole container. But in options (B) and (D), the
particles are more tightly packed together in a certain spot. Because of this, we might think
that the gasses in these containers are at different concentrations.
However, in this question, we are
asked to think about the overall concentration of the particles in the whole
container, and not just the part of the container that the gas happens to be in. So for our purposes, it doesn’t
matter how close together the particles are, as long as they are all in the same
container. If we now count the particles in
option (A), we see that there are eight of them. Therefore, this container holds the
particles at a concentration of eight particles per container. This is a greater concentration
than is shown in options (B), (C), and (D).
Thus, option (A) is the correct
answer, since it represents the container that holds particles at the greatest
concentration.
