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II. Short Answer Questions · Q2

Q.What is the microscopic origin of temperature?

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✓ Free question

Step 1. Comparing the kinetic-theory pressure result PV=13Nmv2‾PV=\tfrac13Nm\overline{v^2} with the ideal gas equation PV=NkTPV=NkT gives kT=13mv2‾kT=\tfrac13m\overline{v^2}.

Step 2. Multiplying by 3/23/2: 32kT=12mv2‾=KE‾\tfrac32kT=\tfrac12m\overline{v^2}=\overline{KE}, the average translational kinetic energy per molecule.

Step 3. This shows temperature is nothing but a direct measure of the average kinetic energy carried by each molecule of the gas -- a higher temperature simply means faster-moving, more energetic molecules on average.

Step 4. This is the microscopic origin of temperature: it depends only on molecular kinetic energy, never on the identity or mass of the molecule itself.

✓Final answer

Temperature is the microscopic measure of how much average kinetic energy each gas molecule carries; comparing kinetic theory's pressure formula with PV=NkT gives KE‾=32kT\overline{KE}=\tfrac32kT.

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