Give the major ideas of the kinetic molecular theory.
A gas consists of a collection of small particles traveling in straight-line motion and obeying Newton's Laws.
The molecules in a gas occupy no volume (that is, they are points).
Collisions between molecules are perfectly elastic (that is, no energy is gained or lost during the collision).
There are no attractive or repulsive forces between the molecules.
The average kinetic energy of a molecule is 3kT/2. (T is the absolute temperature and k is the Boltzmann constant.)
The kinetic molecular theory is a model that explains the behavior of gases based on the movement of individual gas particles. It consists of several major ideas:
1. Gas particles are in constant random motion: According to the kinetic molecular theory, gas molecules are in constant motion, moving in a straight line until they collide with other particles or the container walls.
2. Gas particles have negligible volume: The individual gas particles themselves are assumed to occupy an insignificant amount of space compared to the total volume of the gas. This assumption allows us to consider gases as having uniform composition and continuous flow.
3. Gas particles exert no attractive or repulsive forces on each other: In ideal gases, it is assumed that there are no intermolecular forces between gas particles. They only interact during collisions, and these collisions are assumed to be perfectly elastic, meaning there is no loss of energy.
4. Gas particles have different speeds and energies: The kinetic energy of each gas particle is directly proportional to its temperature. In a sample of gas, different particles have different speeds and energies, following a distribution of speeds.
5. Pressure is due to the collisions of gas particles: The pressure of a gas is a result of the constant collisions between gas particles and with the walls of the container. The more frequent and energetic the collisions, the higher the pressure.
These are the main ideas of the kinetic molecular theory, which provide a conceptual framework to understand the behavior of gases and make predictions about their properties based on the underlying principles of gas particles.