Final answer:
This statement is true. Whether the temperature distribution is symmetrical about the midplane in the context of physics generally refers to the distribution of molecular speeds and would be considered true for an ideal gas following the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regarding the concept of temperature distribution being symmetrical about the midplane, the answer to this depends on the specific context in which the temperature distribution is being examined. Generally, in physics, when considering the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of molecular speeds in an ideal gas, the distribution is indeed symmetrical about the most probable speed, meaning that equal numbers of molecules have speeds on either side of this point.
Thus, if the question pertains to the symmetrical nature of the temperature distribution regarding molecular speeds in the context of thermodynamics, then the answer would be True. However, if the midplane is referring to a physical space, like in the case of a system in thermal equilibrium, symmetry would imply that the temperature is the same on both sides of the midplane, assuming no external asymmetrical influences. Additionally, the statement related to the chi-square distribution (which applies to statistics rather than physics) that the distribution becomes more symmetrical as the degrees of freedom increase suggests a different concept of symmetry related to statistical distributions.