Kaplan Nursing Entrance Practice Exam

Which of the following is not considered a characteristic or property of gas?

1. Volume

2. Mass

3. Pressure

4. Particles

The correct answer is: Particles

The choice indicating particles as not being a characteristic or property of gas is grounded in the nature of gas itself. Gases are composed of particles that are in constant motion, and these particles are typically molecules or atoms that have no fixed arrangement. While volume, mass, and pressure are properties that can be measured and characterized in gases, particles refer to the components that make up the gas, rather than a property or characteristic in the same way that the other three options do. Volume pertains to the space that a gas occupies, mass refers to the amount of matter in the gas, and pressure denotes the force that the gas exerts on the walls of its container due to particle collisions. In essence, volume, mass, and pressure are measurable characteristics of gases, while particles are merely the subunits of the material itself. Thus, understanding that "particles" is more about the composition of gas rather than its properties reinforces why that option is seen as more of a defining element of gas rather than a property of it.