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

Low temp
Solid - strong High pressure
intermolecular forces
 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)  mass of 1 mole of a substance
number of moles n ( 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 M = NA m
n = N / NA = mtot / M
1.00 kg of water vapour H2O

M(H2O) = M(H2) + M(O) = (1 + 1 + 16) g = 18 g = 1810-3 kg

n(H2O) = mtot / M(H2O) = 1 / 1810-3 = 55.6 mol

N(H2O) = n NA = (55.6)(6.0231023) = 3.351025

m(H2O) = M / NA = (1810-3) / (6.0231023) kg = 2.9910-26 kg

1 amu = 1 u = 1.6610-27 kg

m(H2O) = 18 u = (18)(1.6610-27) kg = 2.9910-26 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 = 1.013105 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 = 4R2
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 200
Absolute pressure P 100 300

0 400
P = Pg + Patm
Pg = 200 kPa Patm = 100 kPa
P = 300 kPa
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 = 1.38x10-23 J.K-1

k = R / NA 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 p2 V2

T1 T2
Boyle's Law (constant temperature)
p = constant / V

Charles Law (constant pressure)

V = constant  T

Gay-Lussac’s Law (constant volume)

p = constant  T
 Isothermals pV = constant

180

160

140
n RT
p
120
V
pressure p (kPa)

100 K
100
200 K
300 K
80 400 K

60

40

20

0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
3
volume V (m )
 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

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
Kinetic–Molecular 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
3
N  1 2
2 m v avg 
Total random kinetic energy for translational motion of
all molecules
1  3 3
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)
1 m v2
2
1
 2 2 2
 3
avg  2 m v X avg  vY avg  vZ avg  k T
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 = ½ 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
U   KE  PE     KE   2 N k T
random random

 f f
U N kT  U  N k T
2 2
Degrees of freedom (T not too high)
Only translation possible at
monatomic gas, f=3 very low temp, T  rotation
begins, T  oscillatory
diatomic gas, f = 5, motion starts
polyatomic gas, f=6
Heating a gas
Q  mtot c T
NM
mtot  N m   nM
NA
Q  n M c T

Q  n C T

Molar heat capacity

CMc
Heating a gas at constant volume
f
Q  n CV T  U  N k T
2
st
1 Law Thermodynamics
U  Q  W
Q
f Constant volume
N k T  n CV T
2 process V = 0  W = 0
n  1 N  NA NA k  R
All the heat Q goes into changing the
internal energy U hence temperature T
f
CV  R
2 Larger f  larger CV  smaller T for a given Q
 Heating a gas at constant pressure W
Q  n C p T
f
U N k T
2
1st Law Thermodynamics
U  Q  W

f Q
N k T  n C p T  n R T
2 Constant pressure
n  1 N  NA NA k  R process W = p V
pV  n RT  p V  n R T
Cp  CV  R
It requires a greater heat input to raise the temp of
a gas a given amount at constant pressure c.f.
U = n CV T constant volume