Explaining Avogadro's Law using kinetic theory

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the kinetic theory explanation of Avogadro's Law, examining how it relates to the behavior of gases at the microscopic level. Participants reference other gas laws, such as Boyle's Law and Charles's Law, while seeking a similar kinetic-theory framework for Avogadro's Law.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes they have found kinetic-theory explanations for Boyle's Law, Charles's Law, and the Pressure-Temperature Law, and inquires about Avogadro's Law.
  • Another participant suggests that Avogadro's Law is based on the idea that gas particles behave like ideal, point-like billiard balls, with similar properties except for mass differences.
  • A participant questions the relevance of the billiard ball analogy in explaining Avogadro's Law.
  • It is mentioned that Avogadro's Law holds true for ideal gases and serves as an approximation for gases that are nearly ideal, prompting a request for clarification on why some gases are nearly ideal.
  • A detailed explanation is provided, linking the mean kinetic energy of gas molecules at the same temperature to Avogadro's Law, using the pressure formula and establishing that equal volumes of gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules.
  • Another approach is suggested, relating mean kinetic energy to temperature, but it is noted that this method is less economical than the previous argument.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relevance of analogies used to explain Avogadro's Law, and while some technical explanations are provided, there is no consensus on a singular explanation or model that fully captures the law's implications.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about ideal gas behavior and the conditions under which Avogadro's Law applies, but these assumptions are not universally accepted or clarified.

Bipolarity
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So far I have found a kinetic-theory explanation of the Boyle's Law, Charle's Law, and Pressure-Temperature Law. For example, for the pressure-temperature law: increasing the temperature of a gas while holding the volume constant causes the gas molecules to collide more frequently with the container of the gas, resulting in increased pressure.

Is there an explanation of the Avogadro's Law that uses the kinetic theory?

BiP
 
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i think avogadro's law relies on the fact that microscopically gas particles are like tiny billiard balls, aside from the mass difference they have essentially the same properties and are ideal (ideal collisions, no interaction between molecules etc)
 
bigerst said:
i think avogadro's law relies on the fact that microscopically gas particles are like tiny billiard balls, aside from the mass difference they have essentially the same properties and are ideal (ideal collisions, no interaction between molecules etc)

I don't see how the analogy is relevant here.

BiP
 
Avogadro's law is true for ideal gases (and those behave like a collection of point-like billard balls), and an approximation for gases which are nearly ideal.
What do you want to explain? Why some gases are nearly ideal?
 
In the case of the pressure law, it's not just that the more frequent hits increase the pressure, but that, on average each hit imparts a greater impulse. That's why \overline{c^2}, with the 'squared', appears in the kinetic theory formula for pressure:
pV = \frac{1}{3} Nm\overline{c^2}.

Now let's look at Avogadro. We need the additional input that molecules of all ideal gases at the same temperature have the same mean KE of translational motion, \frac{1}{2}m \overline{c^2}. [Jeans, in The kinetic Theory of Gases has a nice justification for this, using the fact that on average there must be no energy exchange in collisions between gas molecules and wall molecules if the gas is in equilibrium with its container walls.]

So for any two gases at the same temperature m_1\overline{c_1^2} = m_2\overline{c_2^2}.

So, using the pressure formula above:
\frac{p_1V_1}{N_1} = \frac{p_2V_2}{N_2}

This formula applies for equal temperatures, but if we also impose the conditions that p_1=p_2 and V_1=V_2, then N_1=N_2.

So at the same temperature and pressure, equal volumes of gases contain the same number of molecules!

[You can reach the same conclusion using \frac{1}{2}m \overline{c^2}=\frac{3}{2}kT, but this isn't quite as economical because the argument above does not require a specific relationship between temperature and mean KE, merely a knowledge that if two gases have the same mean molecular KE, their temperatures are the same, and the converse.]
 
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