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At what temperature is the average speed of air particles the highest?

User Bob The Janitor
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Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

Air is a mixture of roughly 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. The diatomic molecules of each type have a Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of velocities.

From the kinetic theory of gases the molecules kinetic energy will depend on the temperature.

Let’s use 300 K as room temperature : The nitrogen molecules have a root mean square velocity ( VRMS ) of 353 m/s. The average for all of the molecules is 347 m/s.

In general in gases of diatomic molecules the speed of sound is 68% of the molecular VRMS .

User Jon Moore
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