Statistical MolecularThermodynamics University of Minnesota
Homework Week 4
1. In water there are 3 vibrational degrees of freedom with vibrational temperatures of Θvib,1 = 2290 K, Θvib,2 = 5160 K, and Θvib,3 = 5360 K. At a temperature of 3000 K, which vibrational degree of freedom will contribute the least to the molar energy, U¯?
(a) Θvib,1 = 2290 K
(b) Θvib,2 = 5160 K
(c) Θvib,3 = 5360 K (d) They will all contribute equally.
Answer:
For a polyatomic molecule, the vibrational energy is the sum of the contributions from each normal mode,
−Θ vib/T ¯ X Θvib Θ vibe Uvib(T ) = R + (1) 2 (1 − e−Θ vib/T ) normal modes The ”normal modes” are just the result of a change in the variables we use to describe the internal degrees of freedom (i.e., other than translations and rotations) and there- fore there are as many normal modes as vibrational degrees of freedom. So, for water we have: 9 total - 3 translational - 3 rotation = 3 vibrational. In the problem, we are given three values for Θvibr, one for each normal mode. Thus, for water, equation (1) has three terms:
" ! ! 5360 e−5360/T 5160 e−5160/T U¯ (T ) =R + 5360 + + 5160 vib 2 (1 − e−5360/T ) 2 (1 − e−5160/T ) !# 2290 e−2290/T + + 2290 2 (1 − e−2290/T )
The figure below is a plot including each of the three terms independently, so that we can compare the relative contribution of each mode at each T . 7000
6000
5000 /R
) 4000 T ( 3000 vib ¯ U 2000
1000
0 0 2000 4000 6000 Temperature/ K
¯ Figure 1: The contribution of the three normal modes of vibration of water to Uvib.
2. You have two identical containers at a fixed temperature. In one you have wa- ter vapor (H2O) and in the other you have carbon dioxide (CO2). In the high- temperature, classical limit for vibrations and rotations, meaning that (Θrotation T ) and (Θvibration T ), and assuming you can ignore all excited electronic states, which of the following statements is true.
(a) The molar heat capacity of the water is larger than the molar heat capacity of the carbon dioxide. (b) The molar heat capacity of the carbon dioxide is larger than the molar heat capacity of the water. (c) The molar heat capacity of the water and the carbon dioxide are the same.
Answer: 1 1 In the classical limit, each translation adds 2 R, each rotation adds 2 R, and each vibration adds 1R to the molar heat capacity. Water has 3 translation, 3 rotations (non- 12 linear), and 3 vibrations for a total of CV = 2 R. Carbon dioxide has 3 translations, 13 2 rotations (linear), and 4 vibrations for a total of CV = 2 R. 3. The following is the expression for the heat capacity of an ideal diatomic gas, ! 2 −Θvib/T ¯ 3 Θvib e CV = R + R + R 2 2 |{z} T (1 − e−Θvib/T ) |{z} B A | {z } | {z } C D
The term D is contributed from the electronic degrees of freedom. (a) TRUE (b) FALSE Answer: This is false. The term D is contributed from the vibrational degrees of freedom. The electronic degrees of freedom are typically very small and neglected in the expression for heat capacity. 4. In one dimension, the energy levels of a particle in a box with length a are given by: h2 n2 = (2) n 8 m a2 and there is only one state per level. As we have seen in lecture video 4.1, the trans- lational partition function depends on T and V . In the one dimensional case, the “volume” is the length of the one-dimensional box, a. So we write
n=∞ X h2 n2 q (a, T ) = exp −β (3) Transl, 1D 8 m a2 n=1
What is the partition function for a particle in a box of area a × a? q 2π mkB T (a) h2 q 2π mkB T (b) h2 a q 2π mkB T 2 (c) h2 a q 1 2π mkB T 2 (d) 4 h2 a √ 2π mkB T (e) h2 a 2 2π mkB T 4 (f) h2 a (g) none of the above Answer:
And as we’ve seen, for typical conditions, this summation,
n=∞ X h2 n2 q (a, T ) = exp −β Transl, 1D 8 m a2 n=1 can be very well approximated by an integral:
Z n=∞ h2 n2 q (a, T ) = exp −β dn (4) Transl, 1D 2 n=0 8 m a
β h2 R ∞ 2 p π Let us write α = 8ma2 , and use the fact that 0 exp(−α n ) dn = 4 α . Then we get:
Z n=∞ 2 2 Z n=∞ h n 2 exp −β 2 dn = exp −αn dn (5) n=0 8 m a n=0 r 2π mk T = B a (6) h2
Let’s now consider the 2D case. The energy levels of a particle in a 2D box whose sides have length a are given by:
h2 (n2 + n2) = x y (7) nx,ny 8 m a2 Therefore, the translational partition function is:
2 2 2 X −β h (nx + ny) q (a, T ) = exp (8) Transl, 2D 8 m a2 all states ∞ ∞ 2 2 2 2 X X −β h n −β h ny = exp x exp (9) 8 m a2 8 m a2 nx=1 ny=1 ∞ 2 2 ∞ 2 2 X −β h n X −β h ny = exp x · exp (10) 8 m a2 8 m a2 nx=1 ny=1
But note that the two factors in the final expression are the same (nx and ny are just dummy variables). Therefore:
∞ !2 X −β h2 n2 q (a, T ) = exp (11) Transl, 2D 8 m a2 n=1 But this is just the square of the summation we’ve computed for the 1-dimensional case. Thus, the 2-dimensional translational partition function is: