PHY4604Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Fall 2004
Practice Test 1 solutions
October 6, 2004

These problems are similar but not identical to the actual test. One or two parts will
actually show up.

1. Short answer.
Explain the photoelectric effect

Shine light on metal surface, only photons of sufficiently high energy (fre-
quency) able to kick an electron out. Increasing intensity of low-energy
light doesnt help. A single electron can make a transition out of the solid
only if a single photon carries sufficient energy h.
Explain the significance of h in quantum mechanics, and give an example
of a place where it shows up.

Plancks const. is a quantum (smallest possible unit) of angular momen-

tum. It shows up, for example, in the orbits of the Bohr atom, where
an electron may not have any value of angular momentum, but only an
integer number of nh
Discuss the uncertainty principle briefly

If you make a measurement of an objects position and momentum si-

multaneously, you cannot measure them both arbitrarily precisely. The
product of the uncertainty in knowledge of the objects position x and
in momentum p fulfills the Heisenberg relation

xp >
h (1)

Explain the difference between the 2 versions of Schrodingers equation

h2 2
ih = +V
t 2m x2
and
h2 2
+ V = E
2m x2
The first is the general version, the second applies for stationary states,
i.e. if is an eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian. These special states change
in time in a trivial way, n (x, t) = (x) exp(iEn t/h).

1
 What are the units of P (x, t), the probability density in 1 dimension?
Justify your answer.
R
Must be 1/volume, since dxP (x, t) = 1.
Calculate the commutator [px , x2 ]

[px , x2 ] = (ih)(x2 ) x2 (ih)

= ih2x ix2 0 + ihx2 0
= ih2x.
So [px , x2 ] = ih2x.

Calculate the expression for the Bohr levels of the hydrogen atom from the
Bohr-Ehrenfest quantization condition.

See notes.

2. Consider a wave packet defined by

Z
(x) = dkf (k)ei(kxt) (2)

with = hk 2 /2m and f (k) given by

0
k < k/2
f (k) = a k/2 < k < k/2 (3)

0 k/2 < k
(a) Find the form of (x) at t = 0.

Z Z a/2
ikx
(x) = dkf (k)e =a dkeikx
a/2
a
= = (eixk/2 eixk/2 )
ix
a kx
= 2i sin .
ix 2
(b) Find the value of a for which (x) is properly normalized.
R
Need dx||2 = 1, so

Z
sin2 kx
1 = 4a2 dx2
x2
= 4a2 k/2

2
 q
so a = 1/(2k). I would have given you this integral on the formula
sheet on a real test.
(c) How is this related to the choice of a for which
Z
dk|f (k)|2 = 1? (4)

From the definition of f , the integral means a = 1/ k. Put another way,
the way the Fourier transform f is defined here, |f |2 is not normalized to
1 but to 1/2.
(d) Show that for a reasonable definition of x, the size of the packet given
by your answer in a), kx > 1.

A good estimate of the size of the packet might be the first time sin kx/2
goes to zero, which occurs at x ' x/2 = 2/k. So xk ' 4 for this
packet.

3. A particle in an infinite square well (of width a) has as its initial wave function
an equal mixture of the first two stationary states:

(x, 0) = C[1 (x) + 2 (x)]

(a) Normalise (x, 0). (That is, find C.)

First well need to find 1 (x), 2 (x), the 1st 2 stationary states. From
notes or just from guessing with the standing wave boundary conditions
at x = a/2, they are

s
2 x
1 = cos
a a
s
2 2x
2 = sin
a a

corresponding to energy eigenvalues h2 2 /2m = E

h2 2
E1 =
2ma2
4h2 2
E2 =
2ma2

Time dependence: we will need to know how these 2 states evolve in

time. Since they are eigenstates of H, we must have H = E =
ih(/t) , which has the solution

(x, t) = (x)eiE t/h

3
 Now, on to business. The normalization condition is
Z
1 = dx||2
Z
= C2 dx(|1 |2 + |2 |2 + 1 2 + 2 1 )
= C 2 (1 + 1 + 0 + 0)
where the last 2 terms vanish because they are odd in x. So C 2 = 1/2.
(b) Find (x, t) and |(x, t)|2 . Express the latter in terms of sin and cos using
ei = cos + i sin . Use = 2 h/2ma2 .

From above, (x, t) = C(1 (x)eiE1 t/h + 2 (x)eiE2 t/h ), and

|(x, t)|2 = C 2 (|1 |2 + |2 |2 + 1 2 (ei(E1 E2 )t/h + ei(E1 E2 )t/h )

= C 2 (|1 |2 + |2 |2 + 21 2 cos 3t,
where I used the info given, that E1 = h, E2 = 4h. Note the oscillation
in time.
(c) Compute < x >. Notice that it oscillates in time. What is the frequency
of the oscillation? What is the amplitude?

Z
2
hxi = C dx(|1 |2 + |2 |2 + 21 2 cos 3t)x
2 Z a/2 x 2x 16a
= dx cos sin x = 2 cos 3t,
a a/2 a a 9
where note the 1st two terms vanished because they were even in x, but
now last one wasnt. So this is a particle which is sloshing back and forth
in the well. Again I would have given you this integral on a real test.

(d) Compute < p >.

Z
2
hpi = C dx((1 + 2 )(ih)(1 + 2 )
4 i(E2 E1 )t/h
= ih e ei(E2 E1 )t/h
3a
4h
= sin 3t
3a

(e) Find the expectation value of the Hamiltonian operator, H, in terms of E1

and E2 .
Z
hHi = C 2 (1 + 2 )H(1 + 2 )
Z
2
= =C (1 + 2 )(E1 1 + E2 2 )
Z
= C2 (E1 |1 |2 + E2 |2 |2 ) = (E1 + E2 )/2,

4
 R
where in the 2nd to last step I used dx1 2 =0, etc. from the properties
of sin, cos, or recall that eigenfunctions belonging to different eigenvalues
are orthogonal. In the last step I used the normalization of 1 , 2 .