George M. Shalhoub
Department of Chemistry, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA 19141

Theresa Julia Zielinski
Department of Chemistry, Medical Technology, and Physics, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898

Abstract
	The goal of this document is to examine the potential energy curve for both the ground and excited state of an electronic transition in order to set the stage for a Birge-Sponer determination of the Do and De dissociation energies of the excited state of a diatomic molecule from experimental UV-vis spectral data. This document takes advantage of the live symbolics and optimize features of Mathcad 6.0+ to present a derivation of the Birge-Sponer equations. The document contains ample student exercises to foster reflection and learning of the spectroscopic concepts. After using this document students will be able to: explain the relationship between the potential energy curves for excited and ground states in a molecule; explain the significance of each parameter in a Morse potential energy function; and use a Birge-Sponer plot to determine dissociation energy of an electronic excited state of a diatomic molecule. This document will prepare students for analysis of the vibronic spectrum of iodine or some other diatomic molecule. The Iodine Spectrum document, IodineSpectrum.mcd, is the companion template for the analysis of the UV-vis spectrum of a diatomic molecule.
Mathcad document (fully interactive with Mathcad)
	BirgeSponer.mcd
PDF version (non-interactive)
	BirgeSponer.pdf
Commentary
	Editor's Commentary
Keywords
	Internet, Physical Chemistry, Quantum Chemistry, Teaching / Learning Aids
JCE Citation
	Shalhoub, G. M.; Zielinski, T. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1998 75 1192.