What is the average kinetic energy of a gas molecule at temperature T?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the average kinetic energy of a gas molecule at temperature T?
(3/2)kT
(1/2)kT
(3/2)RT
(1/2)RT
The average kinetic energy of a gas molecule is given by the formula KE_avg = (3/2)kT, where k is the Boltzmann constant.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the average kinetic energy of a gas molecule at temperature T?
Solution: The average kinetic energy of a gas molecule is given by the formula KE_avg = (3/2)kT, where k is the Boltzmann constant.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Gas molecules are always moving.
Step 2: Know that temperature (T) is a measure of how much energy the molecules have. Higher temperature means more energy.
Step 3: Learn about the Boltzmann constant (k), which is a number that helps relate temperature to energy. Its value is approximately 1.38 x 10^-23 J/K.
Step 4: Use the formula for average kinetic energy of a gas molecule: KE_avg = (3/2)kT.
Step 5: Plug in the values of k and T into the formula to calculate the average kinetic energy.