Degeneracy

[Eesha Chattopadhyay 2K]

I understand that degeneracy is the number of ways that a given energy state is achieved but what exactly is degeneracy used for?

[KnarGeghamyan1B]

Degeneracy can be used to describe systems when the systems are of different states, such as solid, liquid, or gas, but equal in energy levels.

[asannajust_1J]

Degeneracy is a way to quantify the possible number of positions a particular species can form. In relation to entropy, it can be seen as the number of Microstates/positions that are possible for a particular system.

[Charlene Datu 2E]

Degeneracy is a way to quantify the possible number of positions a particular species can form. In relation to entropy, it can be seen as the number of Microstates/positions that are possible for a particular system.

How do you determine the number of positions/microstates?

[Kylie Lim 4G]

In class we determined the number of microstates by using the equation 2^N, where N is the number of atoms and 2 represents a 2-state system

[Vincent Leong 2B]

Degeneracy is directly related to entropy and helps find positional entropy. With entropy solved, we can use delta H and entropy in an equation we'll learn later on to determine whether an equation is spontaneous or not.

[705302428]

We use the equation n^2. We use 2 because it's a two-state system and N represents the number of particles.

[Kylie Lim 4G]

W, degeneracy is used in the equation S = kB*ln(W) to find the residual or positional entropy of a system

[CameronDis2K]

For this course, it can be used to calculate entropy via the Boltzmann equation, that is S = Kb * ln W, where W is the degeneracy. In general larger molecules will have greater degeneracy. However, this equation has a lot of error associated with it, as its relying on a whole number and a defined value to calculate the entropy value.

[Leila_4G]

Isn't degeneracy used for the entropy equation (S=kBlnW)?