In: Chemistry
Calculate the most probable value of r for an electron in a hydrogen 1s orbital.
The radial probability density for the hydrogen ground state is obtained by multiplying the square of the wavefunction by a spherical shell volume element. It takes this comparatively simple form because the 1s state is spherically symmetric and no angular terms appear. |
Dropping off the constant terms and taking the derivative with respect to r and setting it equal to zero gives the radius for maximum probability.
which gives
where