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Forces, and Kinetic Theory

Gas molecules move randomly at high speeds, colliding with container walls. Each collision transfers momentum, applying a force. The total force from many collisions per second divided by the surface area creates gas pressure on the walls. Brownian motion also demonstrates this, with fast gas molecules randomly nudging suspended particles visible under a microscope.

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140 views6 pages

Forces, and Kinetic Theory

Gas molecules move randomly at high speeds, colliding with container walls. Each collision transfers momentum, applying a force. The total force from many collisions per second divided by the surface area creates gas pressure on the walls. Brownian motion also demonstrates this, with fast gas molecules randomly nudging suspended particles visible under a microscope.

Uploaded by

salma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Kinetic Theory

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Motion of Molecules in a Gas

 The molecules in a gas move around randomly at high speeds


 The temperature of a gas is related to the average speed of the molecules:
The hotter the gas, the faster the molecules move

Gas molecules move about randomly at high speeds

 As the molecules move around, they collide with the surface of nearby walls
 Each collision applies a force across the surface area of the walls
 Pressure is the force per unit area:

and hence a pressure will be exerted on those walls

Extended Only
Molecule Momentum

 When molecules collide against a wall, they bounce off, changing their momentum

 
When molecules (in a gas) collide against a wall, they undergo a change in momentum

 There are many such collisions every second, resulting in a large change in momentum
each second
 This change in momentum each second results in a force being exerted against the wall:

 The pressure exerted by the gas is equal to this force divided by the area of the wall

 
Brownian Motion

 When small particles (such as pollen or smoke particles) are suspended in a liquid or gas,
the particles can be observed through a microscope moving around in a random, erratic
fashion

Brownian Motion: the erratic motion of small particles when observed through a microscope

 This movement is called Brownian Motion


 This motion is caused by molecules in the gas (or liquid) colliding at high speeds with the
small particles

 
Gas molecules move at high speeds, collide with larger particles, giving them a little nudge

 These collisions give the particles a little nudge, causing them to change their speed and
directions randomly, each time they are struck by a molecule
 This effect provides important evidence concerning the behaviour of molecules in gases

Extended Only
Massive Particles Moved by Small Molecules
 The small particles observed in Brownian motion are significantly bigger than the
molecules that cause the motion
 The molecules are able to affect the particles in this way because they are travelling at
very high speeds (much higher than the particles) and so have a lot of momentum, which
they transfer to the particles when they collide

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