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The formula for the kinetic energy of a particle is:
where KE is the kinetic energy, m is the mass of the particle, and v is the average velocity of the particles.
Thus, e.g., the particles of hydrogen gas are four times as fast as those of oxygen, because the latter have a mass which is 16 times as large.
The law is also named Amontons' law after Guillaume Amontons, who discovered it in 1702.