In the solution to the quantum rigid rotor problem, the divergence of the series solution to Legendre's equation at z = ±1 is typically presented without proof. In addition, the relationship between Legendre's equation and the associated Legendre's equation is seldom explored in depth. This article explores these issues in detail.
Supplement
Two sample labs, The Laplacian Operator in Spherical Polar Coordinates and The Solution of the Associated Legendre Equation, are available.
Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.