Schrodinger Equation

[Ashley McClearnen 1B]

Hi,
Since we do not need to know how to do any calculations using Schrodinger's equation, does anyone know what we should know about it for the test next week?
Thank you

[CateJensen3K]

I think he just wanted us to understand where the orbitals come from? I'm not completely sure.

[I am Sodium Funny]

I don't think we cover the details of the Schrodinger explicitly in this course, unlike Chem 20A. It's mathematically challenging, but here is the things we should basically know about it.

1. It's based on the idea of the wave-particle nature of an electron
All objects have a wave to them. But since most objects mass is far greater than that of subatomic particles it is less apparent (because wavelength is inversely proportional to mass). That's why a baseball doesn't act like a wave and operates under classical mechanics.

2. It helps us understand where to find an electron based on probability
When studying things that exist quantum level things have to have discrete values, but because of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle you can't know a particles exact velocity AND position at the same time (because when you know the velocity of the particle you're examining the wave, but when you determine the position you are examining it as a particle. Thus, never reconciling the duality of the particle-wave nature). Without getting into the details of the math, Schrodinger's equation gives you the PROBABILITY of where the electron would be at a given moment, by examining the wave function squared (The peaks would be high probability, and the nodal points would be no probability).

Hope this helps!

[Ashley McClearnen 1B]

Thank you for your responses!