/*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} Q. 62 At what temperature does thermss... [FREE SOLUTION] | 91Ó°ÊÓ

91Ó°ÊÓ

At what temperature does thermsspeed of (a)a nitrogen molecule and (b)a hydrogen molecule equal the escape speed from the earth's surface? (c)You'll find that these temperatures are very high, so you might think that the earth's gravity could easily contain both gases. But not all molecules move withVrms. There is a distribution of speeds, and a small percentage of molecules have speeds several times Vrms . Bit by bit, a gas can slowly leak out of the atmosphere as its fastest molecules escape. A reasonable rule of thumb is that the earth's gravity can contain a gas only if the average translational kinetic energy per molecule is less than 1%of the kinetic energy needed to escape. Use this rule to show why the earth's atmosphere contains nitrogen but not hydrogen, even though hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.

Short Answer

Expert verified

a. The temperature for nitrogen is1.4â‹…105K.
b The temperature for hydrogen is localid="1648535515937" 104K.

c The temperature of the atmosphere is less than the maximum allowed temperature for nitrogen but higher than the maximum allowed temperatur for hydrogen.

Step by step solution

01

Step: 1 a Finding the Temperature for Nitrogen: (part a)

The rmsspeed formula is given by

vrms=3RTM

The yield is

vrms2=3RTM

Solving for Twe find

T=Mvrms23R

The molar mass of Nitrogen diatomic molecular gas N2is 28gmol. The escape velocity for Earth is 11.2kms. Setting Vrmsequal to this value we find for the temperature

T=1.4â‹…105K.

02

Step: 2 b Finding the Temperature for Hydrogen: (part b)

The rmsspeed is given by

vrms=3RTM

The yield is

vrms2=3RTM

Solving for we find

T=Mvrms23R

The molar mass of Hydrogen diatomic molecular gas H2is 2gmol. The escape velocity for Earth is 11.2kms. Setting Vrms equal to this value we find for the temperature

T=104K.

03

Step: 3 c Kinetic energy :

The average kinetic energy is proportional to temperature. As a result, the temperatures for Nitrogen and Hydrogen should be within a few degrees of each other. 1%of the values calculated in parts a. and b. i.e.

TN2≤1400K,TH2≤100K

This criterion is met for nitrogen but not for hydrogen because the real temperature of the atmosphere is approximately.300K>100K.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91Ó°ÊÓ!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

A rigid container holds 0.20gof hydrogen gas. How much heat is needed to change the temperature of the gas

a.From50K torole="math" localid="1648534484983" 100K?

b.From localid="1648534491176" 250Kto localid="1648534494324" 300K?

c.From localid="1648534497013" 2250Kto localid="1648534500972" 2300K?

The two containers of gas in FIGURE Q20.8 are in good thermal contact with each other but well insulated from the environment. They have been in contact for a long time and are in thermal equilibrium.

a. Is vrmsof helium greater than, less than, or equal to vrmsof argon? Explain.

b. Does the helium have more thermal energy, less thermal energy, or the same amount of thermal energy as the argon? Explain.

5.0×1023nitrogen molecules collide with a 10cm2 wall each second. Assume that the molecules all travel with a speed of 400m/s and strike the wall head-on. What is the pressure on the wall?

Suppose you double the temperature of a gas at constant volume. Do the following change? If so, by what factor?

a. The average translational kinetic energy of a mole cule.

b. The rms speed of a molecule.

c. The mean free path.

Two containers hold several balls. Once a second, one of the balls is chosen at random and switched to the other container. After a long time has passed, you record the number of balls in each container every second. In 10,000s, you find 80times when all the balls were in one container (either one) and the other container was empty.

a. How many balls are there?

b. What is the most likely number of balls to be found in one of the containers?

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.