Upon heating, gases become lighter. Why?a)Increase in molecular spaces...
Upon heating, the molecules in the gases go further away from each other and thus become lighter.
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Upon heating, gases become lighter. Why?a)Increase in molecular spaces...
Explanation:
When gases are heated, they tend to become lighter. This can be explained by the following reasons:
Increase in molecular spaces:
- When a gas is heated, its molecules gain kinetic energy, which causes them to move faster and collide with each other more frequently.
- These collisions result in an increase in the distance between the molecules, leading to an expansion of the gas.
- As the gas expands, its volume increases while its mass remains the same, resulting in a decrease in its density.
- Since density is defined as mass per unit volume, a decrease in density leads to a decrease in the weight of the gas.
Example:
- Let's consider a balloon filled with air. When the balloon is heated, the air molecules inside gain energy and move faster.
- As the air molecules move faster, they collide with each other more frequently and with greater force.
- These collisions cause the air molecules to spread out, increasing the space between them and expanding the balloon.
- As a result, the same amount of air occupies a larger volume, reducing the density of the gas and making the balloon feel lighter.
Conclusion:
- In conclusion, when gases are heated, the increase in molecular spaces due to higher kinetic energy results in the gases becoming lighter.
- This phenomenon is commonly observed in various situations, such as hot air balloons rising in the air or the expansion of gases in a container when heated.