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Which gas is faster, #"CO"# or #"He"#?

Answer 1

Which weighs less?

From a physical standpoint alone, the lighter gas has to move faster for every mol of that gas, which means that the gas with the smaller molar mass moves faster.

Molar masses:

#M_(CO) > M_(He)#

Thus, the velocities are as follows:

#v_(He) > v_(CO)#

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Answer 2

Xavier Avery

Helium (He) gas is faster than carbon monoxide (CO) gas. Helium is lighter than carbon monoxide, which means its molecules have a lower molecular weight and therefore higher average speed at a given temperature. In addition, helium is a monatomic gas, consisting of single atoms, whereas carbon monoxide is a diatomic molecule, consisting of two atoms bound together. The lighter and simpler structure of helium contributes to its higher speed compared to carbon monoxide.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.