What does the area under the Maxwell distribution curve represent?
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Solution
Maxwell distribution curve:
The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution describes the distribution of speeds among the particles in a gas sample at a given temperature.
Area representing curve :
The total area under the two curves is independent of moles of gas.
This is because the quantity on the Y-axis includes N.
Thus, the area under the curve gives the fraction of molecules, and the total area is constant.
The y-axis of the Maxwell-Boltzmann graph can be thought of as giving the number of molecules per unit speed. So, if the graph is higher in a given region, it means that more gas molecules are moving at those speeds.
If molecules enter the sample, the total area under the curve will increase. Similarly, if molecules were to leave the sample, the total area under the curve would decrease.
Hence, the area under the Maxwell distribution curve represents the distribution of speeds among the particles in a gas sample at a given temperature.
