Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution Pogil Answer Key Extension Questions May 2026

An advanced extension question modified from standard POGILs:

Question: A soccer ball (mass 0.43 kg) is treated as a "molecule" at 300 K. Calculate its most probable speed. Why does it not appear to move even though the M-B distribution applies?

Answer: Using ( v_p = \sqrt\frac2RTM ) — but here we use ( R = 8.314 , J/(mol·K) ) and mass in kg/mol. Molar mass of soccer ball = ( 0.43 , kg \times 6.022 \times 10^23 = 2.59 \times 10^23 , kg/mol ). The statement is approximately true but not strictly

[ v_p = \sqrt\frac2(8.314)(300)2.59 \times 10^23 \approx \sqrt1.93 \times 10^-20 \approx 1.39 \times 10^-10 , m/s ]

This is slower than a nanometer per second. The reason we don't see the ball move is that the velocity is infinitesimally small due to the enormous "molar mass" of a macroscopic object, and the ball is constantly bombarded asymmetrically by air molecules (Brownian motion), but the net thermal velocity is dwarfed by friction and gravity. Question: As temperature increases, what happens to the

The statement is approximately true but not strictly true for a real gas.

Question:
As temperature increases, what happens to the peak of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curve? Explain why. Question: As temperature increases

Reasoning & Answer: