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  4. The degrees of freedom of a molecule of a triatomic gas are:

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Q. The degrees of freedom of a molecule of a triatomic gas are:

Bihar CECEBihar CECE 2005Kinetic Theory

Solution:

Key Idea: A triatomic molecule can rotate about any of three coordinate axes. The molecule of a triatomic gas has a tendency of rotating about any of three coordinate axes. So, it has $6$ degrees of freedom; $3$ translational and 3 rotational. At high enough temperature a triatomic molecule has $2$ vibrational degrees of freedom. But as temperature requirement is not given, so we answer simply by assuming triatomic gas molecule at room temperature.
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Thus, $ f=6 $ (3 translational + 3 rotational) at room temperature.