I'm not sure it measures what you think it does...
The question, as asked, does not rely at all on the concept of particle collisions. You can figure it out solely from the Ideal Gas Law. Because all of the gases are in the same volume container we can solve for pressure as:
P = (nT)(R/V) = (nT)(constant)
The gas with the highest nT product will have the higher pressure. Because all of the temperatures are essentially the same in terms of Kelvin (343 K to 356 K) we can look at moles because the variation there is greater. The more number of moles the higher the product. We have two answers with 10 moles so we pick the one at the higher temperature. The answer therefore should be (a).
If you want to check their conception of molecular collisions and the effect on pressure, the question should be reworked as:
Five gases are listed below with their root-mean-square speeds. Which one has the highest pressure?
a. 235 m/s b 775 m/s c. 1843 m/s d. 673 m/s e. 1194 m/s
Here they need to understand that the higher the average molecular speed, the more collisions with the walls and therefore, the higher the pressure. Giving moles and temperature at a constant volume doesn't REQUIRE a molecular/particulate understanding of pressure. It can be done that way but it's not necessary.
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Comment on Gas Laws and the Over-Reliance on Algorithmic Thinking
I'm not sure it measures what you think it does...
The question, as asked, does not rely at all on the concept of particle collisions. You can figure it out solely from the Ideal Gas Law. Because all of the gases are in the same volume container we can solve for pressure as:
P = (nT)(R/V) = (nT)(constant)
The gas with the highest nT product will have the higher pressure. Because all of the temperatures are essentially the same in terms of Kelvin (343 K to 356 K) we can look at moles because the variation there is greater. The more number of moles the higher the product. We have two answers with 10 moles so we pick the one at the higher temperature. The answer therefore should be (a).
If you want to check their conception of molecular collisions and the effect on pressure, the question should be reworked as:
Five gases are listed below with their root-mean-square speeds. Which one has the highest pressure?
a. 235 m/s b 775 m/s c. 1843 m/s d. 673 m/s e. 1194 m/s
Here they need to understand that the higher the average molecular speed, the more collisions with the walls and therefore, the higher the pressure. Giving moles and temperature at a constant volume doesn't REQUIRE a molecular/particulate understanding of pressure. It can be done that way but it's not necessary.
John Milligan