The collision frequency (\( Z \)) is given by:
\( Z = n \pi d^2 v_{avg} \)
where \( n \) is the number of molecules per unit volume, \( d \) is the diameter of the molecules, and \( v_{avg} \) is the average speed.
Let \( Z_1 \) and \( Z_2 \) be the collision frequencies before and after the increase in the number of molecules, respectively. Let \( n_1 \) and \( n_2 \) be the corresponding number densities. Since the diameter and average speed of the molecules remain constant, we can write:
\( \frac{Z_1}{Z_2} = \frac{n_1 \pi d^2 v_{avg}}{n_2 \pi d^2 v_{avg}} = \frac{n_1}{n_2} \)
Given \( n_1 = 3 \times 10^{19} \) and \( n_2 = 12 \times 10^{19} \):
\( \frac{Z_1}{Z_2} = \frac{3 \times 10^{19}}{12 \times 10^{19}} = \frac{3}{12} = \frac{1}{4} = 0.25 \)
The ratio of collision frequencies before and after the increase is 0.25 (Option 1).