Statistical Mechanics Assignments

Oberlin College Physics 410

Fall 2007

This World Wide Web page written by Dan Styer, Oberlin College Department of Physics and Astronomy ;
http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/StatMech/assignments.html;
last updated 20 November 2007.

Statistical Mechanics home page

Technical note: To access the links marked (PDF) you must first download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Assignment 1 (due Friday, 14 September 2007): Problems 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.6, and 2.8.

Model Solutions 1:

• Problem 1.1 The rotating water glass (PDF)
• Problem 1.2 Compressibility, expansion coefficient (PDF)
• Problem 1.3 Heat capacity as a susceptibility (PDF)
• Problem 1.4 The meaning of "never" (PDF)
• Problem 2.6 Lost in space (PDF)
• Problem 2.8 Accessible regions of phase space (PDF)

Assignment 2 (due Friday, 21 September 2007): Problems 2.9, 2.11, D.1, and 2.12. (Look at problems 2.4, 2.10, and D.2.)

Model Solutions 2:

• Problem 2.9 Accessible configurations of a spin system (PDF)
• Problem 2.11 The logarithm (PDF)
• Problem D.1 Volume of a d-dimensional sphere (PDF)
• Problem 2.12 Entropy of a spin system (PDF)

Assignment 3 (due Friday, 28 September 2007): Problems 2.15, 2.23, 2.24, and 2.27. (Look at problems 2.16 through 2.20.)

Model Solutions 3:

• Problem 2.15 Other worlds (PDF)
• Problem 2.23 Chemical potential of an ideal gas (PDF)
• Problem 2.24 Ideal paramagnet, take three (PDF)
• Problem 2.27 Entropy as a function of mass (PDF)

Assignment 4 (due Friday, 5 October 2007): Take home exam.

Model solutions for exam (PDF)

Assignment 5 (due Friday, 12 October 2007): Problems 3.5, 3.19, 3.28, 3.30, and 3.32. (Look at problems 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.9, and 3.10.)

Model Solutions 5:

• Problem 3.5 Fluid work (PDF)
• Problem 3.19 Stumbling in the thermodynamic dance (PDF)
• Problem 3.28 Magnetic systems (PDF)
• Problem 3.30 Heat capacity at constant pressure (PDF)
• Problem 3.32 Heat capacities in a magnetic system (PDF)

Assignment 6 (due Friday, 19 October 2007): Problems 3.25, 3.26, 3.33, 3.35, and 3.39. (Look at problems 3.40 through 3.44.)

Model Solutions 6:

• Problem 3.25 More parameters (PDF)
• Problem 3.26 Another mechanical parameter (PDF)
• Problem 3.33 Isothermal compressibility (PDF)
• Problem 3.35 Isothermal vs. adiabatic compressibility (PDF)
• Problem 3.39 Cool mountain air (PDF)

Assignment 7 (due Friday, 2 November 2007): Problems 4.2, 4.8, 4.9, and 4.12. (Look at problem 4.11.)

Model Solutions 7:

• Problem 4.2 Entropy in the canonical ensemble (PDF)
• Problem 4.8 Fluctuation-susceptibility relation for a magnetic system (PDF)
• Problem 4.9 Two definitions of magnetization (PDF)
• Problem 4.12 Parametric differentiation in quantum mechanics (PDF)

Assignment 8 (due Friday, 9 November 2007): Problems 4.5, 4.6, 5.6, and 5.7. (Look at problems 4.7 and 4.14.)

Model Solutions 8:

• Problem 4.5 Number fluctuations in the grand canonical ensemble (PDF)
• Problem 4.6 Classical monatomic ideal gas in the grand canonical ensemble (PDF)
• Problem 5.6 Schottky anomaly (PDF)
• Problem 5.7 Simple harmonic oscillator (PDF)

Assignment 9 (due Friday, 16 November 2007): Oral exam.

Assignment 10 (due Wednesday afternoon, 21 November 2007): Problems 6.12 and 6.20. (Look at problems 6.11 and 6.13.)

Model Solutions 10:

• Problem 6.12 Isothermal compressibility of quantal ideal gases (PDF)
• Problem 6.20 Thermodynamics of the fermion gas (PDF)

Assignment 11 (due Friday, 30 November 2007): Problems 6.21, 6.23, 7.4, and 7.5. (Look at problems 6.24 and 7.1.)

Model Solutions 11:

• Problem 6.21 White dwarf stars (PDF)
• Problem 6.23 Thermodynamics of the Bose condensate (PDF)
• Problems 7.4 and 7.5 Debye frequency; Debye model energy and heat capacity (PDF)

Assignment 12 (due Friday, 7 December 2007): Problem 9.1.

Model Solutions 12:

• Problem 9.1 Dematurization of DNA (PDF)