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schrodinger equation help?
What is the probability that a particle in the ground state will be found between L/2 and 2L/3?
the answer should be 30.44% i keep getting 66%
with steps please
1 Answer
- EMLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
For what kind of system?
I'll assume you mean a particle in a one-dimensional, square, infinite potential well with zero potential between 0 and L because that happens to give the answer you seek.
For the region with zero potential, the time-independent Schrodinger equation becomes
ψ" = -[2mE/ħ²]ψ
This linear second-order differential equation has the general solution
ψ(x) = Asin(kx) + Bcos(kx), where k = sqrt(2mE)/ħ
Using the boundary conditions ψ(0) = ψ(L) = 0 yields
ψ(x) = Asin(kx) and k = nπ/L
To find A, we assume that once the state collapses (n = 1 for ground state), the probability of finding the particle between 0 and L is 1.
∫ ψ*(x)ψ(x) dx = 1
∫ A²sin²(πx/L) dx = 1
∫ A²[1/2 - (1/2)cos(2πx/L)] dx = 1
A²[x/2 - (L/(4π))sin(2πx/L)] = 1
A²[L/2 - (L/(4π))sin(2πL/L)] = 1
A = sqrt(2/L)
ψ = sqrt(2/L) sin(nπ/L)
Now calculate the probability you need.
∫ (2/L)sin²(πx/L) dx =
(2/L)[x/2 - (L/(4π))sin(2πx/L)] =
(1/L)[x - (L/(2π))sin(2πx/L)] (evaluate from L/2 to 2L/3) =
(1/L)[(2L/3 - L/2) - (L/(2π))(sin(4π/3) - sin(π))] =
1/6 + sqrt(3)/(4π) ≈ 0.3044