CHM 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Molar Mass, Effusion, Kinetic Theory Of Gases

• School: University of Miami
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHM 111
• Professor: Lewis Nita

Document Summary

The basic postulates of kinetic molecular theory are as follows: The size of a particle is negligibly small. Kinetic molecular theory assumes that the particles themselves occupy no volume, even though they have mass. This postulate is justified because, under normal pressures, the space between atoms or molecules in a gas is very large compared to the size of an atom or molecule itself. The average kinetic energy of a particle is proportional to its temperature in kelvins. The motion of atoms or molecules in a gas is due to thermal energy, which distributes itself among the particles in the gas. At any given moment, some particles are moving faster than others and the higher the temperature, the faster the overall motion, and the greater the average kinetic energy. The collision of one particle with another or with the walls of the container is completely elastic.