Experimental proof: knowing experiments

[Sophia Henry]

I have decided to ask this question in the Quantum Numbers forum but I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this question. I ask it here because the specific example I am going to give in my question is about Quantum Numbers. So I saw this and it reminded me that in my studying I have not been paying much attention to the experiments listed and mentioned in the textbook as well as by Dr Lavelle. Instead I've mostly been focusing on the concepts demonstrated by the experiments that the textbook and Dr Lavelle talk about. But I saw this in my notes and it made me realize that I should probably memorize the names of the scientists who made these discoveries and understand the methodologies and results of the different scientific experiments they did to make these chemistry breakthroughs. Like, I definitely wouldn't know what the Stern and Gerlach experiment was if I was asked about it on an exam. But I am remembering from Midterm 1 that there was even a question where it was like "which of these experiments would show this" or "which of these researchers experiments would relate to [blank]". So my QUESTION is... is this something I should be mindful of for the 14a final exam?! Are we going to need to be able to recall different names of experimenters and experiments and which experimenters and experiments relate to this and that concept?! If so, please let me know if anyone has heard anything from their TA or something from Dr Lavelle that I may have missed. Thanks!

[306278293]

While you should definitely check in with your TA about this, I believe that any experiment that was brought up in lecture is fair game for the final exam. While we probably don't have to memorise the name(s) of the experimenter(s), we should know how the experiment was conducted, why, and what the findings were. Some main experiments that we were expected to know on the first midterm were: the photoelectric effect, atomic spectra and E levels, etc