Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Physical Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: diamie24 on October 01, 2014, 07:37:45 PM
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Hey everyone! I need help starting this problem.
How many times less frequently than at a pressure of 760 Torr (1 atm) at a temperature 25 C would an oxygen molecule collide with another oxygen molecule in a container of only oxygen that is at a pressure equal to 100 miles above the earth ( 7.9x10-8 Torr) at 10 K (-263.15 C)? What is the mean free path (distance) between collisions?
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Look up "collision frequency" and "mean free path" in any standard physical chemistry textbook (I just did it with Atkins) or online, and you should quickly find equations that will give you the answer to your questions (assuming oxygen is an ideal gas).
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I looked up the mean free path equation. However, there is no diameter given in the problem for the d^2 value that is needed in order to solve the mean free path equation.
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So estimate it. What basic property of O2, that you can easily look up, could be used as an approximation of the size of the molecule?
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The molar mass and the density of O2?