A polyatomic gas with n degrees of freedom has a mean energy per molecule given by (kB is Boltzmann constant):
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A polyatomic gas with n degrees of freedom has a mean energy per molecule given by (kB is Boltzmann constant):

G1 Physics · Accepted Answer

Step 1: The equipartition theorem states that each active quadratic degree of freedom has an average energy of (1/2)kBT. Step 2: For n such degrees, mean energy per molecule is n × (1/2)kBT. Step 3: Therefore ⟨E⟩ = nkBT/2. Final answer: (C).