PHYS1001

Physics 1 REGULAR
Module 2 Thermal Physics
GASES
IDEAL GASES
KINETIC THEORY MODEL

ap06/p1/thermal/ptE_gases.ppt

Phases of matter
Gas - very weak
intermolecular forces,
rapid random motion

Liquid - intermolecular
forces bind closest neighbours

Solid - strong
intermolecular forces

Low temp
High pressure

Ideal Gas
* Molecules do not exert a force on
each other zero potential energy
* Large number of molecules
* Molecules are point-like
* Molecules are in constant random
motion
* Collisions of molecules with walls of
a container and other molecules
obey Newton's laws and are elastic

Quantity of a gas
number of particles N
mass of particle m
molar mass M

(kg.mol-1)

number of moles n

mass of 1 mole of a substance

( mol) 1 mole contains NA particles

Avogadro's constant NA = 6.023x1023 mol-1

1 mole is the number of atoms in a 12 g sample of carbon-12
1 mole of tennis balls would fill a volume equal to 7 Moons
The mass of a carbon-12 atom is defined to be exactly 12 u
u atomic mass units, 1 u = 1.66x10-27 kg
(1 u)(NA) = (1.66x10-27)(6.023x1023) = 10-3 kg = 1 g
mtot = N m
If

N = NA mtot = NA m = M

n = N / NA = mtot / M

M = NA m

1.00 kg of water vapour H2O

M(H2O) = M(H2) + M(O) = (1 + 1 + 16) g = 18 g = 1810-3 kg
n(H2O) = mtot / M(H2O) = 1 / 1810-3 = 55.6 mol
N(H2O) = n NA = (55.6)(6.0231023) = 3.351025
m(H2O) = M / NA = (1810-3) / (6.0231023) kg = 2.9910-26 kg
1 amu = 1 u = 1.6610-27 kg
m(H2O) = 18 u = (18)(1.6610-27) kg = 2.9910-26 kg

Pressure P

pressure !!!

Is this pressure?
What pressure is applied to the ground if a person stood on one heel?

Pressure P (Pa)

Impact of a molecule on the wall of the

container exerts a force on the wall and
the wall exerts a force on the molecule.
Many impacts occur each second and
the total average force per unit area is
called the pressure.
P=F/A

force F (N)
area A (m2)
pressure P (Pa)

Patmosphere = 1.013105 Pa
~1032 molecules strike our skin every day with an avg speed ~ 1700 km.s -1

Rough estimate of atmospheric pressure

air ~ 1 kg.m-3 g ~ 10 m.s-2 h ~ 10 km = 104 m
p = F / A = mg / A = V g / A = A h / A = g h
Patm ~ (1)(10)(104) Pa
Patm ~ 105 Pa

Famous
demonstration
of air pressure
(17thC) by
Otto Van
Guerickle of
Magdeburg

and all the king's horses

What force is required to separate the hemispheres? Is this force
significant?

Famous demonstration of air

pressure (17thC) by Otto Van
Guerickle of Magdeburg

p = 1x105 Pa
R = 0.30 m
A = 4R2
F = p A
F = (105)(4)(0.3)2 N
F = 105 N

Gauge and absolute pressures

Pressure gauges measure the pressure above and below
atmospheric (or barometric) pressure.
Patm = P0 = 1 atm = 101.3 kPa = 1013 hPa = 1013 millibars =
760 torr = 760 mmHg

Gauge pressure Pg
Absolute pressure P
P = Pg + Patm
Pg = 200 kPa Patm = 100 kPa
P = 300 kPa

200
100
0

300
400

Ideal Gases equation of state (experimental law)

pV=nRT=NkT

must be in Kelvins, K

R, Universal gas constant

(same value for all gases)
R = 8.314 J.mol-1.K-1
Boltzmann constant
k = R / NA

k = 1.38x10-23 J.K-1
R = k NA

All gases contain the same number of molecules when

they occupy the same volume under the same conditions
of temperature and pressure (Avogadro 1776 - 1856)
pV = nRT n = N / NA= pV / RT
Ideal gas, constant mass (fixed quantity of gas)
p1V1
T1

p2 V2
T2

Boyle's Law (constant temperature)

p = constant / V

Charles Law (constant pressure)

V = constant T

Gay-Lussacs Law (constant volume)

p = constant T

Isothermals pV = constant
180
160

pressure p (kPa)

140

120

n RT
V
100 K

100

200 K
300 K

80

400 K

60
40
20
0
0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

volume V (m3)

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

Ideal gas - equipartition of energy classical picture

- not valid at low or high temperatures

Degrees of freedom - there is kinetic energy associated

with each type of random motion
Translation f = 3
z

y
x

Vibration
only at high T
Rotation
diatomic molecule f = 2

Provided the temperature is not too high (< 3000 K), a

diatomic molecule has 5 degrees of freedom

KineticMolecular model for an ideal gas

Large number of molecules randomly bouncing around in a
closed container.
Experimental Law

pV=nRT=NkT

Kinetic-Molecular Model

pV

2
N
3

2
2 m v avg

Total random kinetic energy for translational motion of

all molecules
3
3
1

K tr N mv 2 avg N k T n R T
2
2
2

Average translational KE of a molecule (for an ideal gas,

temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of
the molecules)
3
2
2
2
1 m v2
1
avg 2 m v X avg vY avg vZ avg k T
2
2

At a given temperature T, all ideal gas molecules have the

same average translational kinetic energy, no matter what the
mass of the molecule

energy stored in each degree of freedom = k T

Theorem of equipartition of energy (James Clerk Maxwell):
The thermal energy kT is an important factor in the natural sciences. By
knowing the temperature we have a direct measure of the energy available
for initiating chemical reactions, physical and biological processes.

Internal energy U of an ideal gas

For a monatomic gas, d of f, f = 3

3
KE PE KE 2 N k T

random

f
N kT
2

random

f
N k T
2

Degrees of freedom (T not too high)

monatomic gas,
diatomic gas,
polyatomic gas,

f=3
f = 5,
f=6

Only translation possible at

very low temp, T rotation
begins, T oscillatory
motion starts

Heating a gas

Q mtot c T
mtot N m
Q n M c T
Q n C T
Molar heat capacity

CMc

NM
nM
NA

Heating a gas at constant volume

f
Q n CV T
U N k T
2
st
1 Law Thermodynamics
U Q W
f
N k T n CV T
2
n 1 N NA
CV

f
R
2

NA k R

Q
Constant volume
process V = 0 W = 0
All the heat Q goes into changing the
internal energy U hence temperature T

Larger f larger CV smaller T for a given Q

Heating a gas at constant pressure

f
N k T
2
1st Law Thermodynamics
U Q W
Q n C p T

f
N k T n C p T n R T
2
n 1 N NA NA k R
Cp CV R
U = n CV T

Q
Constant pressure
process W = p V
pV n R T p V n R T

It requires a greater heat input to raise the temp of

a gas a given amount at constant pressure c.f.
constant volume