According to the kinetic theory, the absolute temperature of a gas is directly proportional to
- A. the average speed of its molecules
- B. the average kinetic energy of its molecules
- C. the number of molecules present
- D. the volume of the container
Explanation
Average translational kinetic energy per molecule is three halves kT, so it is the energy rather than the speed that is proportional to temperature. Since energy depends on the square of the speed, doubling the absolute temperature raises the root mean square speed only by the square root of two. This distinction is the point of the question.