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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2005  > January  >
Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources
JCE SymMath: Symbolic Mathematics in Chemistry
An Introduction to Statistical Mechanics
Michelle M. Francl
Department of Chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Cover
January 2005
Vol. 82 No. 1
p. 175
Full Text
This Mathematica notebook introduces physical chemistry students to the partition function for vibrational and rotational energy. Students start with a review of Sterling’s approximation and proceed to examine the harmonic oscillator partition function. They extend their understanding by using their own experimental data or a supplied spectrum to study the fine structure of HCl/DCl or some other diatomic gas. The notebook guides students in their understanding of the effect of temperature on the partition function and the changes in the partition function for different molecules.

The relative populations of the first 11 rotational states of HCl.
Supplement
Fully interactive computer algebra files are available in the JCE SymMath collection of the JCE Digital Library Only@JCE Online.
More Information
*  Citation
 Francl, Michelle M. J. Chem. Educ. 2005 82 175.
*  Keywords

Upper-Division Undergraduate; Physical Chemistry; Computer-Based Learning; Mathematics / Symbolic Mathematics, Quantum Chemistry, Statistical Mechanics, Thermodynamics
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 November 29, 2004
December 9, 2004
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