Kinetic Theory Questions Name ______________________

Date _______________________

1. Why can’t scientists see atoms? Hint: our eyes use light to see…

2. Democritus thought that there was only one kind of atom, how many kinds of atoms are

actually found in nature? Look at a periodic table you can find one here: periodic table

3. An atom is to a drop of water as a drop of water is to think big

4. What are the three main pieces of evidence in support of the Kinetic Theory of Matter?

Hint: Mr. Brown discovered the first one

5. What causes dust particles to move around when viewed in a microscope (Brownian motion)?

6. Why do substances become less concentrated rather than more concentrated as a result of diffusion?

Think probability and random motion

7. Why does diffusion occur faster in hot water than in cold water

What makes hot water, at a molecular level, different from cold water?

8. All substances expand when heated and contract when cooled.

What is the name of this process?

What causes it to happen?

9. Why does hot air rise? Think density and buoyancy

10. Most thermometers work on the principle of

11. What is temperature a measure of? (don’t say “how hot something is”)

12. What did Gabriel Fahrenheit want 100^o to be?

13. What did Anders Celsius want 100^o to be?

14. What did Lord Kelvin want 0^o to be? Don’t say -273

15. Why is the Kelvin scale better for scientific purposes than the other two scales?

16. If the Kelvin scale is so darned good, why do you think it is that nobody has a Kelvin scale

thermometer in their yard?

17. What is human body temperature in degrees Celsius? ____________ in Kelvins? _______________

18. If the temperature outside is 12^o C, which would most people choose to wear?

a) long pants and a sweat shirt b) a fire suit

c) shorts and a tee shirt d) a heavy down jacket

19. If the temperature outside is 312 K, which would most people choose to wear?

a) long pants and a sweat shirt b) a fire suit

c) shorts and a tee shirt d) a heavy down jacket

20. If the temperature outside is 312^o C, which would most people choose to wear?

a) long pants and a sweat shirt b) a fire suit

c) shorts and a tee shirt d) a heavy down jacket