Summarizing the Kinetic-Molecular Theory

Key Concepts and Summary

The kinetic molecular theory is a simple but very effective model that effectively explains ideal gas behavior. The theory assumes that gases consist of widely separated molecules of negligible volume that are in constant motion, colliding elastically with one another and the walls of their container with average velocities determined by their absolute temperatures. The individual molecules of a gas exhibit a range of velocities, the distribution of these velocities being dependent on the temperature of the gas and the mass of its molecules.

Key Equations

• \({u}_{\text{r}\text{m}\text{s}}=\sqrt{\overline{{u}^{2}}}=\sqrt{\frac{{u}_{1}^{2}+{u}_{2}^{2}+{u}_{3}^{2}+{u}_{4}^{2}+\dots }{n}}\)
• \({\text{KE}}_{\text{avg}}=\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\frac{3}{2}RT\)
• \({u}_{\text{rms}}=\sqrt{\frac{3RT}{m}}\)

Glossary

kinetic molecular theory

theory based on simple principles and assumptions that effectively explains ideal gas behavior

root mean square velocity (u_rms)

measure of average velocity for a group of particles calculated as the square root of the average squared velocity