Which gases will effuse the most rapidly?

1 Answer
anor277
Aug 1, 2018

Well, what does #"old Graham's law of effusion"# say...? Would it not be the LIGHTER gases....?

Explanation:

Graham's law was a comparative, EXPERIMENTAL, rate law...for gases #1# and #2#...

#"Rate 1"/"Rate 2"=sqrt("Molecular mass of Gas 2"/"Molecular mass of Gas 1")#

And thus the relative rates of EFFUSION (see here) are INVERSELY proportional to the square root of the ratios of the molecular masses of the gases. This can be more formally derived from kinetic molecular theory....

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