Asked by violet
Which of these would have particles with the highest kinetic energy?
ice
water
water vapor
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Short answer: water vapor (gas).
Why: In the gas phase particles move most freely and, under typical conditions, have the highest average speeds and kinetic energy. More precisely, the average translational kinetic energy per particle depends only on temperature: KEavg = (3/2) kBT. So if ice, liquid water and vapor are all at the same temperature they have the same average translational kinetic energy. The observable difference between phases comes from intermolecular potential energy (binding) and the fact that gases are usually at higher temperatures or have less restriction on motion.
Why: In the gas phase particles move most freely and, under typical conditions, have the highest average speeds and kinetic energy. More precisely, the average translational kinetic energy per particle depends only on temperature: KEavg = (3/2) kBT. So if ice, liquid water and vapor are all at the same temperature they have the same average translational kinetic energy. The observable difference between phases comes from intermolecular potential energy (binding) and the fact that gases are usually at higher temperatures or have less restriction on motion.
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