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| Intermolecular Potentials and The Second Virial Coefficient© |
Patrick L. Holt
Department of Chemistry and Physics
Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY 40205
United States
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| Abstract |
Through exercises embedded in this worksheet, students explore the relationship between intermolecular potentials and the second virial coefficient. Students examine and adjust parameters associated with the hard-sphere, square-well, and Lennard-Jones potentials, noting differences while investigating the correlation between the form of these potentials and molecular interactions. They subsequently use these potentials to compute the second virial coefficient and explore the coefficient?s temperature dependence for several substances. As a final exercise, students use computed values of B to investigate the temperature dependence of the compression factor, Z. Based on these computations and the resulting graphs, students assess the dependence of the virial coefficient on molecular interactions and ambient conditions. As a result, students gain a deeper understanding of the significance of the second virial coefficient and its intrinsic relationship to molecular properties.
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Keywords |
| Audiences: |
Upper-Division Undergraduate |
| Pedagogies: |
Computer-Based Learning |
| Domains: |
Physical Chemistry |
| Topics: |
Gases, Mathematics / Symbolic Mathematics, Physical Properties, Thermodynamics |
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Comments to: pholt@bellarmine.edu
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©Copyright 2004 Journal of Chemical Education
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