Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-1/a5/b/iv/solution
Past exam of the chemistry A course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Paper 1 A5 b iv Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Use the stipulated common Hückel Coulomb parameter , an equal Hückel resonance integral along each cube edge, and zero coupling elsewhere; take an orthonormal site basis. Each lithium vertex has three sodium neighbors. The totally symmetric combinations therefore have the blockFor a coordinate-like combination, the sum of the three neighboring sodium coordinate signs equals the lithium coordinate sign. Thus each of the three equivalent blocks isTheir eigenvalues give the cube nearest-neighbour Hückel model:For the bonding convention these are in increasing energy order, with statistical weights . The eight valence electrons occupy , filling the four bonding spatial molecular orbitals. Their total one-electron energy is . This is a deliberately simplified model: unequal atomic energies or unequal overlaps require a generalized calculation.
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