My Notes
Categories
This is an Excel spreadsheet that contains the radial factors of the H-atom wavefunctions for the 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d, and 4s orbitals as a function of multiples of the Bohr radius. Plots are also included of the radial factors (R) vs. r and the radial probability distribution (4πr2R2) vs. r. These can be used during lecture to illustrate to students how these plots change for each type of orbital, or for different principal quantum numbers, or for changing effective nuclear charge.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Excel spreadsheet of radial wavefunction calculations | 470.5 KB |
| Power point version of several of the graphs in the excel spreadsheet | 1.82 MB |
Computer with Excel, projection method
Evaluation
On both problem sets and exams, I ask students to sketch plots of the radial factors and radial probability distributions for different atomic orbitals including getting them to think about the impact of increasing effective nuclear charge on the plots.
Showing students that these plots can be generated with Excel can help to demystify the mathematical aspects of atomic orbitals.