Increasing the temperature allows a gas to absorb thermal energy and convert into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy allows the gas to move and the speed at which it moves gives us the root mean square speed.
Concept #1: Understanding kinetic energy & Root Mean Square Speed
Example #1: A 1.56 x 1013 pg gaseous particle travels at 6.21 m/s. Determine its kinetic energy.
The kinetic energy (in J or kJ) of a gas molecule is directly proportional to its absolute temperature in Kelvins.
Practice: Calculate the molar mass, in g/mol, of a gaseous compound with an average root mean velocity of 652 m/s at a temperature of 30o C.
Remember that using the root mean square speed equation deals with molar mass in g/mol, so further conversion may sometimes be needed.