Rankers Physics
Topic: Thermal Physics
Subtopic: Kinetic Theory of Gases

A mixture of 2 moles of helium gas (atomic mass = 4 amu) and 1 mole of argon gas (atomic mass = 40 amu) is kept at 300 K in a container. The ratio of the rms speeds \( \left( \frac{v_{rms}(helium)}{v_{rms}\left( argon \right)} \right) \) is:
0.32
0.45
2.24
3.16

Solution:

The root mean square (rms) speed \( v_{\text{rms}} \) of a gas is given by:

\[
v_{\text{rms}} = \sqrt{\frac{3RT}{M}}
\]

where \( M \) is the molar mass.

For helium (\( M = 4 \, \text{g/mol} \)) and argon (\( M = 40 \, \text{g/mol} \)) at the same temperature, the ratio of their rms speeds is:

\[
\frac{v_{\text{rms}(\text{He})}}{v_{\text{rms}(\text{Ar})}} = \sqrt{\frac{M_{\text{Ar}}}{M_{\text{He}}}} = \sqrt{\frac{40}{4}} = \sqrt{10} \approx 3.16
\]

Thus, the ratio \( \frac{v_{\text{rms}(\text{He})}}{v_{\text{rms}(\text{Ar})}} \) is approximately 3.16.

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