5.0 States of Matter and Kinetic Molecular Theory

2026-05-16 14:21

Status: #new

Tags: #chemistry #gasses

5.0 States of Matter and Kinetic Molecular Theory

States of Matter

This is the case since:

Solids struggle to move on their own let alone rotate
Liquids can vibrate rotate etc. but they struggle to fully encapsulate some container they are stored in, due to gravitational pressures
Gas can fully encapsulate their container and can move in all directions, rarely hitting each other, $\to$ they have full translation

Gas Mixtures ( $V_{T} = V_{a} = V_{b}$ )

All gas components in a container share the same volume, as there is minimal attraction forces between them and so much space between them that their differences are negligible

Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT)

1. The volume of initial gas molecules is negligible compared to the volume of a container holding the gas

This is the case because of how far apart they are, where there is almost no attraction

2. There is neither an Attractive or Repulsive force between the gas molecules.

Because, as stated in 1. their attraction is negligible

3. Gas molecules have high translation energy $\to$ They move randomly in all directions in a straight line

This is because they are in constant random motion

4. Gas molecules will eventually collide with each other and will result in a perfectly elastic collision (no loss of kinetic energy)

This is because the molecules have minimal interactions with each other (no sticking, deforming or bonding) meaning they simply bounce off each other

This is because as temperature increases, energy in the system increases

A few takeaways

Assume Ideal Gas Law (ALL KMT properties will have to apply in this unit)

Defining the system

A system is everything part of an analysis. It defines what is allowed to be exchanged in boundary of analysis.
There exists 3 Key Types of systems:
A Open system is one where outside matter AND energy can come
A Closed system is one where outside matter may not come in but ENERGY can
A Isolated system is one where outside matter and energy $\neq$ come in

References

5.2 Ideal Gas Law