PSYC 4100 Chapter : 4100 Wordlist
Document Summary
The kinetic-molecular theory accounts for the properties of an ideal gas in terms of a set of statements about the nature of gases. The molecules of a gas do not all have the same kinetic energy at a given instant. Their speeds are distributed over a wide range; the distribution varies with the molar mass of the gas and with temperature. The root-mean-square (rms) speed, u, varies in proportion to the square root of the absolute temperature and inversely with the square root of the molar mass: It follows from kinetic-molecular theory that the rate at which a gas undergoes effusion (escapes through a tiny hole into a vacuum) is inversely proportional to the square root of its molar mass (graham"s law). The diffusion of one gas through the space occupied by a second gas is another phenomenon related to the speeds at which molecules move.
