What is the significance of the terms-'isolated gaseous atom' and 'ground state' while defining the ionization enthalpy and electron gain enthalpy?

What is the significance of the terms-'isolated gaseous atom' and 'gro

1.	What is the significance of the terms-'isolated gaseous atom' and 'ground state' while defining the ionization enthalpy and electron gain enthalpy?
Answer» SOLUTION : Isolated gaseous atom means that the atom should be FEE from other atom in the gaseous state. No ENERGY should be required to SEPARATE it further from other atoms. GROUND state means the lowest energy state possible for that atom. These terms are used for comparison purposes.