Determining the Number of Orientations/Degeneracy & Microstates

[Hai-Lin Yeh 1J]

Is degeneracy and microstates the same thing since degeneracy is W and microstates is also represented by W. Also, I know that W = (number of possible positions/orientations)^(number of particles), but how do you determine the base, which is the number of possible positions/orientations? Can someone give an example?

[Shally Li 2C]

Degeneracy is how many microstates there are. By the number of states for the base of the degeneracy equation, it means the number of ways the molecule can be arranged. For example, for carbon monoxide, it can either be arranged C-O or O-C, which is why the base is 2 and w=2^N

[Jonas Talandis]

Degeneracy and the number of micro states are the same thing. The example he used in class was that the base equaled the number of places an atom could conceivably be. He used in example of a double sided flask with a very very very small tube between them; the tube was too small for an atom to conceivably be located there. Therefore, there are two sides, so the the base is 2.

[Hai-Lin Yeh 1J]

In the example he used in class, what does he mean by "2 particles both in one of two states, W = 4 (or 2^2)" and "1 particle in one of two states, W = 2 (or 2^1)". Was there 4 microstates or 2?