Chapter 41 Problems

1, 2, 3 = straightforward,
intermediate, challenging
Section 41.1 An Interpretation of
Quantum Mechanics
1. A free electron has a wave
function
( )
( ) x i
Ae x
10
10 00 . 5

where x is in meters. Find (a) its de
Broglie wavelength, (b) its
momentum, and (c) its kinetic energy
in electron volts.
2. The wave function for a particle
is
( )
( )
2 2
a x
a
x
+

for a > 0 and < x < +. Determine

the probability that the particle is
located somewhere between x = a
and x = +a.
Section 41.2 A Particle in a Box
3. An electron is confined to a one-
dimensional region in which its
ground-state (n = 1) energy is 2.00
eV. (a) What is the length of the
region? (b) How much energy is
required to promote the electron to its
first excited state?
4. An electron that has an energy
of approximately 6 eV moves between
rigid walls 1.00 nm apart. Find (a) the
quantum number n for the energy
state that the electron occupies and
(b) the precise energy of the electron.
5. An electron is contained in a
one-dimensional box of length 0.100
nm. (a) Draw an energy-level diagram
for the electron for levels up to n = 4.
(b) Find the wavelengths of all
photons that can be emitted by the
electron in making downward
transitions that could eventually carry
it from the n = 4 state to the n = 1
state.
6. An alpha particle in a nucleus
can be modeled as a particle moving
in a box of length 1.00 10
14
m (the
approximate diameter of a nucleus).
Using this model, estimate the energy
and momentum of an alpha particle in
its lowest energy state. (m

= 4
1.66 10
27
kg)
7. A ruby laser emits 694.3-nm
light. Assume light of this wavelength
is due to a transition of an electron in
a box from its n = 2 state to its n = 1
state. Find the length of the box.
8. A laser emits light of wavelength
. Assume this light is due to a
transition of an electron in a box from
its n = 2 state to its n = 1 state. Find
the length of the box.
9. The nuclear potential energy
that binds protons and neutrons in a
nucleus is often approximated by a
square well. Imagine a proton
confined in an infinitely high square
well of length 10.0 fm, a typical
nuclear diameter. Calculate the
wavelength and energy associated
with the photon emitted when the
proton moves from the n = 2 state to
the ground state. In what region of the
electromagnetic spectrum does this
wavelength belong?
10. A proton is confined to move in
a one-dimensional box of length 0.200
nm. (a) Find the lowest possible
energy of the proton. (b) What If?
What is the lowest possible energy of
an electron confined to the same box?
(c) How do you account for the great
difference in your results for (a) and
(b)?
11. Use the particle-in-a-box model
to calculate the first three energy
levels of a neutron trapped in a
nucleus of diameter 20.0 fm. Do the
energy-level differences have a
realistic order of magnitude?
12. A photon with wavelength is
absorbed by an electron confined to a
box. As a result, the electron moves
from state n = 1 to n = 4. (a) Find the
length of the box. (b) What is the
wavelength of the photon emitted in
the transition of that electron from the
state n = 4 to the state n = 2?
Section 41.3 The Particle Under
Boundary Conditions
Section 41.4 The Schrdinger
Equation
13. Show that the wave function =
Ae
i(kx t)
is a solution to the
Schrdinger equation (Eq. 41.13)
where k = 2/ and U = 0.
14. The wave function of a particle
is given by
( ) ( ) ( ) kx B kx A x sin cos +
where A, B, and k are constants. Show
that is a solution of the Schrdinger
equation (Eq. 41.13), assuming the
particle is free (U = 0), and find the
corresponding energy E of the
particle.
15. Prove that the first term in the
Schrdinger equation, (
2
/2m)
(d
2
/dx
2
), reduces to the kinetic
energy of the particle multiplied by
the wave function (a) for a freely
moving particle, with the wave
function given by Equation 41.3 and
(b) for a particle in a box, with the
wave function given by Equation
41.17.
16. A particle in an infinitely deep
square well has a wave function given
by
( )

,
_

L
x
L
x

2
sin
2
2
for 0 x L and zero otherwise. (a)
Determine the expectation value of x.
(b) Determine the probability of
finding the particle near L/2, by
calculating the probability that the
particle lies in the range 0.490L x
0.510L. (c) What If? Determine the
probability of finding the particle near
L/4, by calculating the probability that
the particle lies in the range 0.240L
x 0.260L. (d) Argue that the result
of part (a) does not contradict the
results of parts (b) and (c).
17. The wave function for a particle
confined to moving in a one-
dimensional box is
( )

,
_

L
x n
A x

sin
Use the normalization condition on
to show that
L
A
2

Suggestion: Because the box length is

L, the wave function is zero for x < 0
and for x > L, so the normalization
condition (Eq. 41.6) reduces to

L
dx
0
2
1
18. The wave function of an electron
is
( )

,
_

L
x
L
x

2
sin
2
Calculate the probability of finding the
electron between x = 0 and x = L/4.
19. An electron in an infinitely deep
square well has a wave function that
is given by
( )

,
_

L
x
L
x

2
sin
2
2
for 0 x L and is zero otherwise.
What are the most probable positions
of the electron?
20. A particle is in the n = 1 state of
an infinite square well with walls at x
= 0 and x = L. Let be an arbitrary
value of x between x = 0 and x = L.
(a) Find an expression for the
probability, as a function of , that the
particle will be found between x = 0
and x = . (b) Sketch the probability
as a function of /L. Choose values of
/L ranging from 0 to 1.00 in steps of
0.100. (c) Find the value of for which
the probability of finding the particle
between x = 0 and x = is twice the
probability of finding the particle
between x = and x = L. You can
solve the transcendental equation for
/L numerically.
21. A particle in an infinite square
well has a wave function that is given
by
( )

,
_

L
x
L
x

sin
2
1
for 0 x L and is zero otherwise.
(a) Determine the probability of
finding the particle between x = 0 and
x = L/3. (b) Use the result of this
calculation and symmetry arguments
to find the probability of finding the
particle between x = L/3 and x = 2L/3.
Do not re-evaluate the integral. (c)
What If? Compare the result of part
(a) with the classical probability.
22. Consider a particle moving in a
one-dimensional box for which the
walls are at x = L/2 and x = L/2. (a)
Write the wave functions and
probability densities for n = 1, n = 2,
and n = 3. (b) Sketch the wave
functions and probability densities.
(Suggestion: Make an analogy to the
case of a particle in a box for which
the walls are at x = 0 and x = L.)
23. A particle of mass m moves in a
potential well of length 2L. Its
potential energy is infinite for x < L
and for x > +L. Inside the region L <
x < L, its potential energy is given by
( )
( )
2 2 2
2 2
x L mL
x
x U

In addition, the particle is in a

stationary state that is described by
the wave function (x) = A(1 x
2
/L
2
)
for L < x < +L, and by (x) = 0
elsewhere. (a) Determine the energy
of the particle in terms of , m, and L.
(Suggestion: Use the Schrdinger
equation, Eq. 41.13.) (b) Show that A
= (15/16L)
1/2
. (c) Determine the
probability that the particle is located
between x = L/3 and x = +L/3.
24. In a region of space, a particle
with zero total energy has a wave
function (a) Find the potential energy
U as a function of x. (b) Make a sketch
of U(x) versus x.
( )
2
2
L
x
Axe x


Section 41.5 A Particle in a Well
of Finite Height
25. Suppose a particle is trapped in
its ground state in a box that has
infinitely high walls (Fig. 41.4). Now
suppose the left-hand wall is suddenly
lowered to a finite height and width.
(a) Qualitatively sketch the wave
function for the particle a short time
later. (b) If the box has a length L,
what is the wavelength of the wave
that penetrates the left-hand wall?
26. Sketch the wave function (x)
and the probability density ( )
2
x for
the n = 4 state of a particle in a finite
potential well. (See Fig. 41.8.)
Section 41.6 Tunneling Through a
Potential Energy Barrier
27. An electron with kinetic energy
E = 5.00 eV is incident on a barrier
with thickness L = 0.200 nm and
height U = 10.0 eV (Fig. P41.27). What
is the probability that the electron (a)
will tunnel through the barrier? (b) will
be reflected?
Figure P41.27
28. An electron having total energy
E = 4.50 eV approaches a rectangular
energy barrier with U = 5.00 eV and L
= 950 pm as shown in Figure P41.27.
Classically, the electron cannot pass
through the barrier because E < U.
However, quantum-mechanically the
probability of tunneling is not zero.
Calculate this probability, which is the
transmission coefficient.
29. What If? In Problem 28, by how
much would the width L of the
potential barrier have to be increased
for the chance of an incident 4.50-eV
electron tunneling through the barrier
to be one in a million?
30. An electron has a kinetic energy
of
12.0
eV.
The
electron is incident upon a rectangular
barrier of height 20.0 eV and
thickness 1.00 nm. By what factor
would the electrons probability of
tunneling through the barrier increase
assuming that the electron absorbs all
Note: Problem 43 in Chapter 16 can
be assigned with this section.
the energy of a photon with
wavelength 546 nm (green light)?
Section 41.7 The Scanning
Tunneling Microscope
31. A scanning tunneling
microscope (STM) can precisely
determine the depths of surface
features because the current through
its tip is very sensitive to differences
in the width of the gap between the
tip and the sample surface. Assume
that in this direction the electron wave
function falls off exponentially with a
decay length of 0.100 nm; that is, with
C = 10.0/nm. Determine the ratio of
the current when the STM tip is 0.500
nm above a surface feature to the
current when the tip is 0.515 nm
above the surface.
32. The design criterion for a typical
scanning tunneling microscope
specifies that it must be able to
detect, on the sample below its tip,
surface features that differ in height
by only 0.002 00 nm. What
percentage change in electron
transmission must the electronics of
the STM be able to detect, to achieve
this resolution? Assume that the
electron transmission coefficient is e

2CL
with C = 10.0/nm.
Section 41.8 The Simple
Harmonic Oscillator
33. Show that Equation 41.24 is a
solution of Equation 41.22 with energy
E = .
34. A one-dimensional harmonic
oscillator wave function is
2
bx
Axe

(a) Show that satisfies Equation
41.22. (b) Find b and the total energy
E. (c) Is this a ground state or a first
excited state?
35. A quantum simple harmonic
oscillator consists of an electron
bound by a restoring force
proportional to its position relative to
a certain equilibrium point. The
proportionality constant is 8.99 N/m.
What is the longest wavelength of
light that can excite the oscillator?
36. (a) Normalize the wave function
for the ground state of a simple
harmonic oscillator. That is, apply
Equation 41.6 to Equation 41.24 and
find the required value for the
constant B, in terms of m, , and
fundamental constants. (b) Determine
the probability of finding the oscillator
in a narrow interval /2 < x < /2
around its equilibrium position.
37. Two particles with masses m
1
and m
2
are joined by a light spring of
force constant k. They vibrate along a
straight line with their center of mass
fixed. (a) Show that the total energy
2 2
2 2
2
1 1
2
1
2
1
2
1
kx v m v m + +
can be written as v
2
+ kx
2
where
2 1
v v v +
is the relative speed
of the particles and = m
1
m
2
/(m
1
+
m
2
) is the reduced mass of the
system. This result demonstrates that
the pair of freely vibrating particles
can be precisely modeled as a single
particle vibrating on one end of a
spring that has its other end fixed. (b)
Differentiate the equation
v
2
+ kx
2
= constant
with respect to x. Proceed to show
that the system executes simple
harmonic motion. Find its frequency.
38. The total energy of a particle
spring system in which the particle
moves with simple harmonic motion
along the x axis is
2 2
2
2
kx
m
p
E
x
+
where p
x
is the momentum of the
particle and k is the spring constant.
(a) Using the uncertainty principle,
show that this expression can also be
written
2
2
2
8
2
x
x
p
k
m
p
E

+
(b) Show that the minimum energy of
the harmonic oscillator is
2 4 4
1
min

+ +
m
k
U K E
Additional Problems
39. Keeping a constant speed of 0.8
m/s, a marble rolls back and forth
across a shoebox. Make an order-of-
magnitude estimate of the probability
of its escaping through the wall of the
box by quantum tunneling. State the
quantities you take as data and the
values you measure or estimate for
them.
40. A particle of mass 2.00 10
28
kg is confined to a onedimensional
box of length 1.00 10
10
m. For n =
1, what are (a) the particles
wavelength, (b) its momentum, and
(c) its zero-point energy?
41. An electron is represented by
the time-independent wave function
( )

'
>
<

+
0 for x
0 for x
x
x
Ae
Ae
x

(a) Sketch the wave function as a

function of x. (b) Sketch the
probability density representing the
likelihood that the electron is found
between x and x + dx. (c) Argue that
this can be a physically reasonable
wave function. (d) Normalize the wave
function. (e) Determine the probability
of finding the electron somewhere in
the range
2
1
to
2
1
2 1
x x
42. Particles incident from the left
are confronted with a step in potential
energy shown in Figure P41.42.
Located at x = 0, the step has a
height U. The particles have energy E
> U. Classically, we would expect all
of the particles to continue on,
although with reduced speed.
According to quantum mechanics, a
fraction of the particles are reflected
at the barrier. (a) Prove that the
reflection coefficient R for this case is
( )
( )
2
2 1
2
2 1
k k
k k
R
+

where k
1
= 2/
1
and k
2
= 2/
2
are
the wave numbers for the incident
and transmitted particles. Proceed as
follows. Show that the wave function

1
= Ae
i k1 x
+

Be
i k1 x
satisfies the
Schrdinger equation in region 1, for x
< 0. Here Ae
i k1 x
represents the
incident beam and Be
i k1 x
represents
the reflected particles. Show that
2
=
Ce
i k2 x
satisfies the Schrdinger
equation in region 2, for x > 0. Impose
the boundary conditions
1
=
2
and
d
1
/ dx = d
2
/ dx at x = 0, to find the
relationship between B and A. Then
evaluate R = B
2
/A
2
. (b) A particle that
has kinetic energy E = 7.00 eV is
incident from a region where the
potential energy is zero onto one in
which U = 5.00 eV. Find its probability
of being reflected and its probability
of being transmitted.
Figure P41.42
43. Particles incident from the left
are confronted with a step in potential
energy shown in Figure P41.42. The
step has a height U, and the particles
have energy E = 2U. Classically, all
the particles would pass into the
region of higher potential energy at
the right. However, according to
quantum mechanics, a fraction of the
particles are reflected at the barrier.
Use the result of Problem 42 to
determine the fraction of the incident
particles that are reflected. (This
situation is analogous to the partial
reflection and transmission of light
striking an interface between two
different media.)
44. An electron is trapped in a
quantum dot. The quantum dot may
be modeled as a one-dimensional,
rigid-walled box of length 1.00 nm. (a)
Sketch the wave functions and
probability densities for the n = 1 and
n = 2 states. (b) For the n = 1 state,
calculate the probability of finding the
electron between x
1
= 0.150 nm and
x
2
= 0.350 nm, where x = 0 is the left
side of the box. (c) Repeat part (b) for
the n = 2 state. (d) Calculate the
energies in electron volts of the n = 1
and n = 2 states. Suggestion: For
parts (b) and (c), use Equation 41.5
and note that
ax
a
x dx ax 2 sin
4
1
2
1
sin
2

45. An atom in an excited state 1.80

eV above the ground state remains in
that excited state 2.00 s before
moving to the ground state. Find (a)
the frequency and (b) the wavelength
of the emitted photon. (c) Find the
approximate uncertainty in energy of
the photon.
46. An electron is confined to move
in the xy plane in a rectangle whose
dimensions are L
x
and L
y
. That is, the
electron is trapped in a two-
dimensional potential well having
lengths of L
x
and L
y
. In this situation,
the allowed energies of the electron
depend on two quantum numbers n
x
and n
y
. The allowed energies are given
by

,
_

+
2
2
2
2
2
8
y
y
x
x
e
L
n
L
n
m
h
E
(a) Assuming L
x
= L
y
= L, find the
energies of the lowest four energy
levels for the electron. (b) Construct
an energy-level diagram for the
electron, and determine the energy
difference between the second
excited state and the ground state.
47. For a particle described by a
wave function (x), the expectation
value of a physical quantity f(x)
associated with the particle is defined
by
( ) ( )

> <


* dx x f x f
For a particle in a one-dimensional
box extending from x = 0 to x = L,
show that
2 2
2 2
2
2 3

n
L L
x > <
48. A particle is described by the
wave function
(a) Determine the normalization
constant A. (b) What is the probability
that the particle will be found between
x = 0 and x = L/8 if its position is
measured? (Suggestion: Use Eq.
41.5.)
49. A particle has a wave function
(a) Find and sketch the probability
density. (b) Find the probability that
the particle will be at any point where
x < 0. (c) Show that is normalized,
and then find the probability that the
particle will be found between x = 0
and x = a.
50. A particle of mass m is placed in
a one-dimensional box of length L.
What If? Assume the box is so small
that the particles motion is
relativistic, so that K = p
2
/2m is not
valid. (a) Derive an expression for the
kinetic energy levels of the particle.
(b) Assume the particle is an electron
in a box of length L = 1.00 10
12
m.
Find its lowest possible kinetic energy.
By what percent is the nonrelativistic
equation in error? (Suggestion: See
Eq. 39.23.)
51. Consider a crystal consisting
of two nuclei and two electrons as
shown in Figure P41.51. (a) Taking
into account all the pairs of
interactions, find the potential energy
of the system as a function of d. (b)
Assuming the electrons to be
restricted to a one-dimensional box of
length 3d, find the minimum kinetic
energy of the two electrons. (c) Find
the value of d for which the total
energy is a minimum. (d) Compare
this value of d with the spacing of
atoms in lithium, which has a density
of 0.530 g/cm
3
and an atomic mass of
7 u. (This type of calculation can be
used to estimate the density of
crystals and certain stars.)
Figure P41.51
52. The simple harmonic oscillator
excited. The wave function
is a solution to the simple harmonic
oscillator problem. (a) Find the energy
of this state. (b) At what position are
you least likely to find the particle? (c)
At what positions are you most likely
to find the particle? (d) Determine the
value of B required to normalize the
wave function. (e) What If?
Determine the classical probability of
finding the particle in an interval of
small width centered at the position
x = 2(/m)
1/2
. (f) What is the actual
probability of finding the particle in
this interval?
53. Normalization of wave functions.
(a) Find the normalization constant A
for a wave function made up of the
two lowest states of a particle in a
box:
( )
1
]
1

,
_

+
,
_

L
x
L
x
A x

2
sin 4 sin
(b) A particle is described in the space
a x a by the wave function
( )

,
_

+
,
_

a
x
B
a
x
A x

sin
2
cos
Determine the relationship between
the values of A and B required for
normalization. (Suggestion: Use the
identity sin 2 = 2 sin cos .)
54. The normalized wave functions
for the ground state,
0
(x), and the
first excited state,
1
(x), of a quantum
harmonic oscillator are
( )
2 /
4 / 1
0
2
x a
e
a
x

,
_

( )
2 /
4 / 1
3
1
2 4
x a
xe
a
x

,
_

where a = m/. A mixed state,

01
(x), is constructed from these
states:
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] x x x
1 0 01
2
1
+
The symbol <q>
s
denotes the
expectation value of the quantity q for
the state
s
(x). Calculate the following
expectation values: (a) <x>
0
(b) <x>
1
(c) <x>
01
.
55. A two-slit electron diffraction
experiment is done with slits of
unequal widths. When only slit 1 is
open, the number of electrons
reaching the screen per second is 25.0
times the number of electrons
reaching the screen per second when
only slit 2 is open. When both slits are
open, an interference pattern results
in which the destructive interference
is not complete. Find the ratio of the
probability of an electron arriving at
an interference maximum to the
probability of an electron arriving at
an adjacent interference minimum.
(Suggestion: Use the superposition
principle.)

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