Basic Assumptions of the Kinetic Molecular Theory
:
By the late 19th century, scientists had begun accepting the atomic
theory of matter started relating it to individual molecules. The
Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases comes from observations that
scientists made about gases to explain their macroscopic
properties. The following are the basic assumptions of the Kinetic
Molecular
- The volume occupied by the individual particles of a gas is
negligible compared to the volume of the gas itself.
- The particles of an ideal gas exert no attractive forces on
each other or on their surroundings.
- Gas particles are in a constant state of random motion and move
in straight lines until they collide with another body.
- The collisions exhibited by gas particles are completely
elastic; when two molecules collide, total kinetic energy is
conserved.
- The average kinetic energy of gas molecules is directly
proportional to absolute temperature only; this implies that all
molecular motion ceases if the temperature is reduced to absolute
zero.