Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-1/a4/a/iv/solution

Neglecting intersite orbital overlap, one normalized real set of symmetry-adapted linear combinations is
The coefficient vectors are orthonormal. The first has equal phase at all three sites; the second opposes site to ; the third has zero amplitude at and opposite phases at . Any orthonormal rotation of the two functions is equally valid. With nonzero intersite orbital overlap, normalization must instead use the overlap matrix.
Figure 1.
Original coefficient-and-phase sketches of the three hydrogen symmetry orbitals in ammonia
. Details.

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