A BASIC POSTULATE OF THE KINETIC THEORY OF GASES IS THAT THE MOLECULES OF A GAS MOVE IN STRAIGHT LINES BETWEEN COLLISIONS. THIS IMPLIES THAT
April 21, 2024
A. collisions are perfectly elastic ✓
B. forces of repulsion exist
C. forces of repulsion and attraction are in equilibrium
D. collisions are inelastic
Collisions are elastic in the context of the kinetic theory of gases does not imply that collisions are perfectly elastic in the sense of no energy loss. Instead, it means that during a collision, the total momentum of the system before and after the collision remains constant. This is a simplifying assumption made to model gas behavior under ideal conditions, as in reality, collisions can be elastic or inelastic. However, the kinetic theory assumes elastic collisions for mathematical convenience and to derive useful equations such as the ideal gas law.