Question

Give reason for the following observation:

The smell of hot sizzling food reaches you several metres away but to get the smell from cold food you have to go close

Answer 1

Kinetic theory of gas molecules:

• According to the kinetic theory of gas, the kinetic energy of gas molecules is directly proportional to the temperature
• The more is the temperature, the more is the kinetic energy where molecules diffuse faster.
• For example, the temperature of hot sizzling is more when compared to cold food, so kinetic energy is more for hot sizzling and the smell diffuses at longer distances.

Therefore, due to the more kinetic energy of gas molecules, the smell of hot sizzling food reaches several meters away whereas kinetic energy is lower for cold food, so you have to move closer to get the smell.