JEE MainPhysicsKinetic Theory of Gases
A closed vessel contains a mixture of hydrogen ( H₂ ) and oxygen ( O₂ ) gases in thermal equilibrium. The ratio of the average translational kinetic energy per molecule of hydrogen gas to that of oxygen gas is:
Options
- A16 : 1
- B1 : 1
- C1 : 16
- D4 : 1
Correct answer
B. 1 : 1
Step-by-step solution
Since the hydrogen and oxygen gases are mixed in the same closed vessel and are in thermal equilibrium, they are at the same absolute temperature T . The average translational kinetic energy of a single molecule of any ideal gas is given by 3 2 kT , where k is the Boltzmann constant. This energy depends only on the absolute temperature of the gas and is completely independent of the mass or nature of the gas molecules. Therefore, the average translational kinetic energy per molecule is the same for both hydrogen an