In a diatomic molecule, the rotational energy at a given temperature
(a) obeys Maxwell’s distribution
(b) have the same value for all molecules
(c) equals the translational kinetic energy for each molecule
(d) is the translational kinetic energy for each molecule
The correct answer is the option (a) and (d)
If we assume a diatomic molecule along the z-axis, its energy along that axis will be zero. The total energy of a diatomic molecule can be expressed as:
The number of independent terms in the expression =5. The above expression obeys Maxwell’s distribution as their velocities can be predicted with Maxwell’s findings. In this case, for each molecule 3 translational and 2 rotational energies are associated. So, at any temperature, rotational energy = translational KE