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GIZMOS Student Exploration Diffusion Questions and
Answers 2025/2026 Update 100% Correct.
Student Exploration: Diffusion
Gizmo Warm-up
Smells are carried by tiny particles that move through the air. The Diffusion Gizmo™ shows gas
particles in a chamber that is divided into two regions by a partial wall. Click Play ( ) and
observe.
1. Describe the motion of the gas particles.
The gas particles move freely and bounce right off of
each other.
.
2. Over time, what is happening?
Overtime it seems like they start to slow down
3. Select the BAR CHART tab, and observe the chart for a few minutes. After the first 30
seconds or so, how much do the numbers of particles in each region change?
The x in A went from 50 particles to 40 and the x in B
went from 0 to 10..
When the numbers don’t change much, the particles are said to be in dynamic equilibrium.
Introduction: In this Gizmo, temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale. On this scale, 0 K
represents absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature. Water freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C),
and water boils at 373.15 K (100 °C).
Question: How does temperature affect the rate of diffusion?
1. Observe: Set the temperature (Temp.) to 100 K, and press Play. Observe the motion of
particles. Click Reset. Then set the temperature to 600 K, click Play, and observe.
How does the temperature of the gas relate to the motion of the particles?
with 100K it seemed like the particles slowed down a
lot quicker than when it was 600k.
The temperature of a gas is a measure of the average kinetic energy of a set of particles.
Kinetic energy (KE) depends on the velocity and mass of the particles (KE = mv).
2. Form hypothesis: How do you think temperature will affect the rate of diffusion?
mailto:https://www.stuvia.com/user/Wisdoms
, I think the hotter the temperature is the fast the
molecules will slow down.
3. Experiment: Click Reset. Set the Wall to 50%, x in A to 100, y in B to 0, Temp. to 100 K,
and Particle mass to 15 amu (atomic mass units). Select the TABLE tab. Press Play.
Click Pause when x in A first reaches 55% or below. Record this Time to reach
equilibrium in the left table below.
Repeat four more times at 100 K, and then run five trials with the temperature set to 600 K.
Temp = 100 K experiment Temp = 600 K experiment
Trial Time to reach equilibrium
1 308
2 256
3 266
4 419
5 295
Average 308.8
mailto:https://www.stuvia.com/user/Wisdoms
GIZMOS Student Exploration Diffusion Questions and
Answers 2025/2026 Update 100% Correct.
Student Exploration: Diffusion
Gizmo Warm-up
Smells are carried by tiny particles that move through the air. The Diffusion Gizmo™ shows gas
particles in a chamber that is divided into two regions by a partial wall. Click Play ( ) and
observe.
1. Describe the motion of the gas particles.
The gas particles move freely and bounce right off of
each other.
.
2. Over time, what is happening?
Overtime it seems like they start to slow down
3. Select the BAR CHART tab, and observe the chart for a few minutes. After the first 30
seconds or so, how much do the numbers of particles in each region change?
The x in A went from 50 particles to 40 and the x in B
went from 0 to 10..
When the numbers don’t change much, the particles are said to be in dynamic equilibrium.
Introduction: In this Gizmo, temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale. On this scale, 0 K
represents absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature. Water freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C),
and water boils at 373.15 K (100 °C).
Question: How does temperature affect the rate of diffusion?
1. Observe: Set the temperature (Temp.) to 100 K, and press Play. Observe the motion of
particles. Click Reset. Then set the temperature to 600 K, click Play, and observe.
How does the temperature of the gas relate to the motion of the particles?
with 100K it seemed like the particles slowed down a
lot quicker than when it was 600k.
The temperature of a gas is a measure of the average kinetic energy of a set of particles.
Kinetic energy (KE) depends on the velocity and mass of the particles (KE = mv).
2. Form hypothesis: How do you think temperature will affect the rate of diffusion?
mailto:https://www.stuvia.com/user/Wisdoms
, I think the hotter the temperature is the fast the
molecules will slow down.
3. Experiment: Click Reset. Set the Wall to 50%, x in A to 100, y in B to 0, Temp. to 100 K,
and Particle mass to 15 amu (atomic mass units). Select the TABLE tab. Press Play.
Click Pause when x in A first reaches 55% or below. Record this Time to reach
equilibrium in the left table below.
Repeat four more times at 100 K, and then run five trials with the temperature set to 600 K.
Temp = 100 K experiment Temp = 600 K experiment
Trial Time to reach equilibrium
1 308
2 256
3 266
4 419
5 295
Average 308.8
mailto:https://www.stuvia.com/user/Wisdoms
