Question

A container is filled with a mixture of helium and oxygen at the same temperature. The molar mass of helium is 4g mol^-1 and that of oxygen is 32 g mol^-1. What is the ratio of the average speed of helium molecules to the average speed of oxygen molecules?

Answer 1

Answer:2.83 times greater than the average speed of oxygen molecules at the same temperature.

Step-by-step explanation:The ratio of the average speed of helium molecules to the average speed of oxygen molecules can be calculated using the root mean square (rms) velocity formula:

ratio of rms velocity = sqrt(M2/M1)

where M1 and M2 are the molar masses of the gases.

In this case, the ratio of the molar masses is M2/M1 = 32/4 = 8.

So, the ratio of the rms velocity of helium to oxygen is:

ratio of rms velocity = sqrt(8) = 2.83

Therefore, the average speed of helium molecules is about 2.83 times greater than the average speed of oxygen molecules at the same temperature.