Final answer:
The kinetic energy of particles increases with temperature, and heavy and light particles have different speed distributions at the same temperature. The kinetic energy distribution broadens as temperature increases, leading to a wider range of molecular speeds.
Step-by-step explanation:
Kinetic Energy and Temperature Relationship
Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. In the context of particles, as the temperature of a system increases, the particles move faster, suggesting that they possess greater kinetic energy. This is because the average kinetic energy of gas particles are directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas. Absolute zero is the theoretical lowest temperature possible, at which particles would have minimal vibrational motion, essentially zero kinetic energy.
Distribution of Particle Speeds in Gases
For both heavy and light particles, at a given temperature, the distribution of kinetic energies shows a range of values with most particles having kinetic energy around the average. However, the distribution of speeds will differ for heavy versus light particles. Light particles will generally have higher speeds than heavy particles at the same temperature. When the temperature increases, the kinetic energy distribution 'flattens out' and becomes broader, indicating a wider range of particle speeds and energies.
The distribution of molecular speeds becomes wider at higher temperatures, and it can be described by a statistical distribution such as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. The collisions between gas molecules are elastic, meaning the total kinetic energy is conserved, and this leads to the variation in individual molecule speeds after collisions.