The degrees of freedom of `CO` gas molecule at moderate temperature is

Options

A. `6`
B. `7`
C. `3`
D. `8`

Answer

To determine the degrees of freedom of a CO (carbon monoxide) gas molecule at moderate temperature, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the structure of CO
CO is a diatomic molecule, meaning it consists of two atoms: one carbon (C) and one oxygen (O).

**Hint:** Diatomic molecules typically have different types of degrees of freedom compared to polyatomic molecules.

### Step 2: Determine translational degrees of freedom
For any gas molecule, the translational degrees of freedom are equal to 3, corresponding to movement in the x, y, and z directions.

**Hint:** Remember that translational motion is the movement of the entire molecule in space.

### Step 3: Determine rotational degrees of freedom
A linear molecule like CO has 2 rotational degrees of freedom. This is because it can rotate around two axes perpendicular to the bond connecting the two atoms.

**Hint:** For linear molecules, the formula for rotational degrees of freedom is 2.

### Step 4: Determine vibrational degrees of freedom
For a diatomic molecule, there is 1 vibrational mode, which accounts for the vibration between the two atoms. However, each vibrational mode contributes 2 degrees of freedom (one for kinetic energy and one for potential energy). Therefore, the total vibrational degrees of freedom for CO is 2.

**Hint:** Vibrational motion involves the oscillation of the atoms in the molecule.

### Step 5: Calculate total degrees of freedom
Now, we can sum up all the degrees of freedom:
- Translational: 3
- Rotational: 2
- Vibrational: 2

Total degrees of freedom = 3 (translational) + 2 (rotational) + 2 (vibrational) = 7.

### Conclusion
The degrees of freedom of CO gas molecule at moderate temperature is **7**.

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