10.3 The Boltzmann Distribution

Question 1

What are the collisions between molecules in a cas and the walls of the container said to be

Answer 1

Elastic

The molecules do not slow down as a result of a collision and no energy is lost

Question 2

In a gas, a liquid or a solution, some molecules move ______ with ______ energy and some molecules move ______ with ______ energy. Most molecules move close to the ______ speed and have close to the average ______.

Answer 2

Slowly
Low
Fast
High
Average
Energy

Question 3

What is the spread of molecular energies in gases known as

Answer 3

The Boltzmann distribution

Question 4

Features of the Boltzmann distribution:

Answer 4

No molecules have zero energy - the curve starts at the origin
The area under the curve is equal to the total number of molecules
There is no maximum energy for a molecule - the curve does not meet eh x-axis at high energy. The curve would need to reach infinite energy to meet the x-axis

Question 5

At a higher temperature:

Answer 5

More molecules have an energy greater than or equal to the activation energy
Therefore a greater proportion of collisions will lead to a reaction, increasing the rate of reaction.
Collisions will also be more frequent as the molecules are moving faster, but the increased energy of the molecules is much more important than the increased frequency of collisions

Question 6

A catalyst lowers the ______ ______ of a reaction. It provides an ______ ______ for the reaction.

Answer 6

Activation energy

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