many ways, the essence of chemistry is considering things on the atomic and

molecular level. This idea applies when we study chemical reactions and also whe
n
we examine the properties of matter. So as we begin to look at matter and materi
als from a chemist s perspective, we will always want to focus on the way the prop
erties of
matter are related to the properties and behavior of its constituent molecules.
Gases provide an excellent starting point for this because the observable macroscopic pro
perties of
gases are very direct results of the behavior of individual molecules within the
gas.
Most of the earliest investigations of gas properties were carried out using air
.
The reasons for this are clear: air is both readily available and obviously impo
rtant
to our lives. Although the sophistication of the measurements we make has increa
sed
tremendously, the availability and importance of air have ensured that it remain
s a
very carefully studied gas. Nowadays, much of our interest in air is actually dr
iven by
concerns over the levels and effects of various pollutants. The U.S. Environment
al
Protection Agency (EPA) defi nes pollutants as unwanted chemicals or other materi
als found in the air. Although this defi nition does include a