NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LESOTHO

Department of Science and Technology

C2740– Assignment #1
Statistical Mechanics

Instructor: Dr. Thabang Ntho

October 3, 2023

Name:
Student Number:

This assignment contains 8 pages (including this cover page) and 6 questions. Total of points is 80.
Good luck and Happy reading work!
Hint: When explaining or defining terms, using equations can help keep your answer concise
and clear.

Distribution of Marks
Question Points Score
1 10
2 10
3 20
4 20
5 10
6 10
Total: 80

1
C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

1. (a) (5 points) Define entropy in the context of statistical mechanics.

(b) (5 points) How does increasing the number of microstates relate to entropy?

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

2. (a) (5 points) Explain the concept of constrained optimization in the context of statistical
mechanics.
(b) (5 points) Describe the role of Lagrange multipliers in constrained optimization.

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

3. (a) (10 points) A system has 10 particles and 30 units of energy. Calculate the probability of
finding a particle with 2 units of energy using the Boltzmann distribution.
(b) (10 points) For a given system, the energy levels are E1 = 0, E2 = 3, and E3 = 5.
Calculate the most probable distribution of particles using the Boltzmann distribution.

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

4. (a) (10 points) Consider a system with two distinguishable particles. Calculate the partition
function for this system.
(b) (10 points) For a system with three indistinguishable particles, calculate the partition
function.

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

5. (10 points) Derive the following expression that links the partition function, Q, to entropy, S;

∂ ln Q
S = k ln Q + kT
∂T

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

6. (10 points) Derive the following expression that links the partition function, Q, to pressure, P;

∂ ln Q
P = kT
∂V

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C2740 Assignment #1 October 3, 2023

This page is intentionally left blank to accommodate work that wouldn’t fit elsewhere and/or
scratch work.

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