Students

Chemistry 312: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy

Course Level: 
Third Year
Academic Year: 
2022/2023

Alex Wang, Chemistry D334, yawang@chem.ubc.ca

Textbooks:

  • Donald A. McQuarrie, Quantum Chemistry (2nd edition), University Science Books, 2007
    (required text).

Syllabus:

  • Historical Perspectives − 1 week (mainly Chapter 1)
    • From Classical Mechanics to Quantum Mechanics: §1.1-1.7
  • Principles of Quantum Mechanics − 4 weeks (mainly Chapters 1-4)
    • The Bohr Atom: §1.8-1.9
    • The de Broglie Matter Wave: §1.10-1.13
    • The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: §1.14, §3.8, §4.4
    • Complex Numbers: Math. A
    • Differential Equations: Chapter 2
    • The Schrödinger Equation: §3.1-3.3
    • Particle in a One-Dimensional Box: §3.4-3.8
    • Well-behaved functions: §4.1
    • Interpretation of Wave Functions: §4.1
    • Normalizations: §3.6, §4.1, §5.8, §6.6, §7.1
    • Operators: §3.2-3.3, §4.2-4.3
    • Eigenfunctions: §3.2-3.3, §4.2-4.3
    • Expectation Values: §3.7-3.9, §4.3
    • The Stern-Gerlach Experiment: §7.5
    • Hermitian Operators: §4.5-4.6
    • Eigenfunctions and Commutation Relations: §4.4, §4.7, §6.8-6.app. 
    • Superposition: §4.8
    • The Dirac Bra-Ket Notation: §4.5
  • Selected Applications − 5 weeks (mainly Chapters 5-7)
    • Particle in a Three-Dimensional Box: §3.9
    • Separation of Variables: §3.9
    • Rigid Rotator: §6.1-6.2, §6.6
    • Harmonic Oscillator: §5.4-5.6, §5.8-5.app.,
    • Hydrogen Atom Radial Functions: §7.1
    • Hydrogen-like Orbitals: §7.2-7.3
  • Term Symbols − 3 weeks (mainly Chapters 6, 7 & 9)
    • Angular Momentum: §6.8-6.app., §4.2
    • Electron Spin: §7.5
    • The Zeeman Effect: §7.4, §7.8
    • Spin-Orbit/L-S/Russell-Saunders Coupling: §7.6, §9.13
    • Hydrogen-like Atom Term Symbols: §7.7
    • Multi-electron Atom Term Symbols: §9.9-9.10
    • Hund’s Rules: §9.11
    • Term Symbols in Atomic Spectroscopy: §9.12