4 Rollback to Revision 2 edited Feb 15 '18 at 11:28 lesnik 2,59411 gold badge77 silver badges1414 bronze badges Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (Equipartition theoremhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is $$kT/2$$1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed $$\rightarrow$$=> molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is $$kT/2$$. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed $$\rightarrow$$ molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed => molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. 3 added 21 characters in body edited Feb 15 '18 at 8:33 valerio 13k11 gold badge3131 silver badges6868 bronze badges Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theoremEquipartition theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T$$kT/2$$. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed =>$$\rightarrow$$ molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed => molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is $$kT/2$$. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed $$\rightarrow$$ molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. 2 added 7 characters in body edited Sep 21 '16 at 11:34 lesnik 2,59411 gold badge77 silver badges1414 bronze badges Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed => molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed => molecules should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. Why do you think that liquids have less kinetic energy compared to gasses? Equipartition theorem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem) states that average kinetic energy is the same per degree of freedom and is 1/2 * k * T. The motion of a molecule of water inside a liquid is jittery, but still the molecule has 6 degrees of freedom so the kinetic energy should be the same. This may look counter-intuitive. We heat water, water evaporates, energy consumed => molecules in gas should move faster. Isn't it? Actually the energy goes to breaking the attractive forces between molecules in liquid. 1 answered Sep 21 '16 at 11:20 lesnik 2,59411 gold badge77 silver badges1414 bronze badges