Unit 2.

Kinetic Molecular Theory (1)

1. Calculate the average translational energy of one mole of ethane at 400K. Compare the
obtained result with the behavior observed for Uethane(400K) in the shown Fig 1.

Fig.1 The molar energy U plotted against

pressure for ethane at 400 K. The value
of Uid is equal to 14.55 kJ/mol.

2. A 1.0 dm3 glass bulb contains 1.0x103 H2 molecules. If the pressure exerted by the
gas is 100 kPa, what are:

a. The temperature of the gas,?

b. The root mean square speeds of the molecules?

c. Would the temperature be different if they were O2 molecules?

3. Calculate the root-mean-square speed of:
a. A nitrogen molecule at 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, 100°C, and 500°C.

b. The following gases: O2, N2, H2O, CO2, NO2, 235UF6 , and 238UF6 at 300K, and
arrange them in order of increasing root-mean-square speed. Explain why this
behavior.

4. Calculate the root-mean-square (sometimes called effective) speeds of the He and Ne

atoms in the He-Ne gas laser tube at room temperature (300 K). See Fig 2.

Fig. 2. T he-Ne gas

H laser.
5. It is known that the speed of sound in air at sea level at 20°C is about 770 mph. Also,
the speed of sound in an ideal gas is given by:

Where γ=Cp/Cv. Then,

a. Calculate usound at 20°C in argon, nitrogen and oxygen, and compare them with
the reported value for usound in air.

b. Compare the value for usound in air with the root-mean-square speed of nitrogen
and oxygen molecules at 20°C.

c. Derive an equation for the ratio urms/ usound for a monoatomic gas.
6. Explain:
a. If the temperature of a gas is doubled, by how much is the root-mean-square
speed of the molecules increased?

b. Why the factor γ in the following equation must be a positive quantity?

c. The Boyle’s Law, the Charles’s Law, and the Avogadro’s Law from a point of
view of kinetic model of gases.

d. How would you interpret the velocity distribution:

7. From the equation for the distribution function for the energy

Derive an expression for σε2= <ε2> - <ε>2. Now, form the ratio to σε/<ε>, what does this
say about the fluctuations in ε?

8. The probability that a molecules in a gas will have a speed u can be expressed by the
function:

Where m is the mass of the molecule, kB is the Boltzmann’s constant, and T is the
temperature. The most probable speed is the speed for which this function is at a
maximum. Find the expression for the most probable speed and find its value for
nitrogen molecules at 25°C.
9. Prove that:

a.

b.

c. For a two-dimensional gas the distribution of speeds is given by:

(Recall that the area element in plane polar coordinates is rdrdθ)

 d. The most probable speed of a molecule that collides with a small surface area is
higher than the most probable speed of a molecule in the bulk of the gas phase
by a factor (2/3)½.

10. One cubic meter of atomic hydrogen at 0°C and atmospheric pressure contains
approximately 2.70×1025 atoms. The first excited state of the hydrogen atom has an
energy of 10.2 eV above the lowest energy level, called the ground state. Use the
Boltzmann factor to find the number of atoms in the first excited state

a. at 0°C

b. at 10.000°C.
11. Using the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of speeds, estimate:
a. The fraction of N2 molecules at 500 K that have speeds in the range 290 to 300
m/s.

b. The fraction of CO2 molecules at 300 K that have speeds in the range 200 to 250
m/s.

12. Fifteen identical particles have various speeds: one has a speed of 2.00 m/s; two have
speeds of 3.00 m/s; three have speeds of 5.00 m/s; four have speeds of 7.00 m/s; three
have speeds of 9.00 m/s; and two have speeds of 12.0 m/s. Find
a. The average speed.
b. The rms speed.
c. The most probable speed of these particles.
13. Let deal now with the idea of the escape velocity of a particle from a body such as the
Earth's surface. Recall that the potential energy of two masses, m1 and m2 separated by
a distance r is given by

where G = 6.67x10-11 J.m·kg-1 is called the gravitational constant. Suppose a particle of

mass m has a velocity u perpendicular to the Earth's surface. Show that the minimum
velocity that the particle must have in order to escape the Earth's surface (its escape
velocity) is given by

Given that Mearth= 5.98x1024 kg is the mass of the Earth and Rearth = 6.36x106 m is its
mean radius, calculate the escape velocity of a hydrogen molecule and a nitrogen
molecule. What temperature would each of these molecules have to have so that
their average speed exceeds their escape velocity?