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Question

The angular part of the wavefunction for the electron in a hydrogen atom is proportional to $\sin^2 \theta \cos \theta e^{2i\phi}$. The values of the azimuthal quantum number ($l$) and the magnetic quantum number ($m$) are, respectively

The correct answer is
3 and 2

Wavefunction Angular Part Analysis

The angular part of the wavefunction for an electron in a hydrogen atom is given by spherical harmonics, $Y_l^m(\theta, \phi)$. This part depends on the azimuthal quantum number ($l$) and the magnetic quantum number ($m$).

The general form is $Y_l^m(\theta, \phi) \propto P_l^{|m|}(\cos \theta) e^{im\phi}$, where $P_l^{|m|}$ represents the associated Legendre polynomial.

Identifying Magnetic Quantum Number ($m$)

The term $e^{im\phi}$ in the wavefunction directly corresponds to the magnetic quantum number, $m$.

Given angular part: $\propto \sin^2 \theta \cos \theta e^{2i\phi}$.

Comparing the exponential term $e^{2i\phi}$ with the general form $e^{im\phi}$, we identify $m = 2$.

Determining Azimuthal Quantum Number ($l$)

The $\theta$ dependence of the wavefunction, along with the value of $m$, determines the azimuthal quantum number, $l$. We match the given $\theta$ dependence ($\sin^2 \theta \cos \theta$) with known spherical harmonics.

Consider the spherical harmonic $Y_3^2(\theta, \phi)$. Its form is known to be proportional to $\sin^2 \theta \cos \theta e^{2i\phi}$.

This matches the provided angular part of the wavefunction.

Therefore, by comparing $Y_3^2(\theta, \phi)$ with the general form $Y_l^m(\theta, \phi)$, we conclude that $l=3$ and $m=2$.

Conclusion

The azimuthal quantum number ($l$) is 3.

The magnetic quantum number ($m$) is 2.

Thus, the values are $l=3$ and $m=2$.

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Important Questions from Hydrogen Atom

  1. The experimental ionization energies of hydrogen and helium atoms in their ground states are, respectively, 13.6 eV and 24.6 eV. The ground state energy of helium atom, in eV, is
  2. $ψ = N r(6 – Zr)e^{-Zr/3} cos θ$, is a proposed hydrogenic wavefunction, where $Z$ = Atomic number, $r$ = radial distance from the nucleus, $θ$ = azimuthal angle, $N$ is a constant. The INCORRECT statement about $ψ$ is
  3. The positions of two atoms in spherical polar coordinates ($r, \theta, \Phi$) are ($1, \frac{\pi}{2}, \frac{\pi}{2}$) and ($1, \frac{\pi}{4}, \frac{3\pi}{2}$), where the distance is in Å and the angles are in radian. The interatomic distance (in Å) is ______ (rounded off to two decimal places).
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