Question

The gas molecules randomly move in all directions and collide with each other and with the wall of the container. It is difficult to determine the speed of an individual molecule but it has become possible to work out the distribution of molecules among different molecular speeds. This is known as Maxwell Boltzmann distribution.
Consider the following graph about Maxwell's distribution of speeds at two different temperatures $T_1$ and $T_2$.

The shaded area represents.

• A. number of molecules having speed between $u_1$ and $u_2$
• B. number of molecules having speed less than the most probable speed
• C. number of molecules having $v_{rms}$ at $T_1$
• D. fraction of total molecules having average speed

Answer 1

The correct option is A number of molecules having speed between $u_1$ and $u_2$

The shaded area represents the number of molecules having speed between u1 and u2.
Note:
In the above graph the point ′P′ refers to most probable speed at temperature $T_1$.
The point ′R′ refers to most probable speed at temperature $T_2$.
The point 'Q' represents the fraction of molecules with most probable speed 'P' at temperature $T_1$.
The point 'S' represents the fraction of molecules with most probable speed 'R' at temperature $T_2$.