Skip to content

Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution

Visualize how temperature and molar mass shift the kinetic energy distribution of particles, affecting the proportion that overcome the Activation Energy.

MAXWELL-BOLTZMANN DISTRIBUTION

Shows the distribution of speeds/energies for particles in a gas at a specific temperature.

CORE FORMULAS

Avg KE

AP EXAM CONNECTION

Unit: Unit 3: IMFs and Properties
Learning Objective: SAP-7.A

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

  • Thinking all particles move at the same speed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Higher T shifts distribution right and flattens it.

DEEP DIVE: RELATED CONCEPTS