A student places a sample of gaseous \(\text{xenon}\) into a sealed syringe at \(298\text{ K}\) and \(1.0\text{ atm}\). An identical syringe contains an equal mass of liquid \(\text{xenon}\) at \(165\text{ K}\). When the external pressure on both pistons is increased from \(1.0\text{ atm}\) to \(5.0\text{ atm}\), the volume of the gaseous \(\text{xenon}\) decreases significantly, while the volume of the liquid \(\text{xenon}\) remains virtually unchanged. Which of the following best explains why the gas is far more compressible than the liquid?