Which of the following gases has the highest RMS speed at the same temperature?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
Which of the following gases has the highest RMS speed at the same temperature?
Oxygen (O2)
Nitrogen (N2)
Hydrogen (H2)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
RMS speed is inversely proportional to the square root of molar mass. Hydrogen (H2) has the lowest molar mass among the options, thus it has the highest RMS speed.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: Which of the following gases has the highest RMS speed at the same temperature?
Solution: RMS speed is inversely proportional to the square root of molar mass. Hydrogen (H2) has the lowest molar mass among the options, thus it has the highest RMS speed.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what RMS speed means. RMS speed is a way to measure the speed of gas molecules at a certain temperature.
Step 2: Know that RMS speed is affected by the molar mass of the gas. Molar mass is the weight of one mole of a substance.
Step 3: Remember the rule: the lower the molar mass, the higher the RMS speed. This means lighter gases move faster.
Step 4: Look at the gases given in the question and find their molar masses. Identify which gas has the lowest molar mass.
Step 5: Conclude that the gas with the lowest molar mass will have the highest RMS speed at the same temperature.