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Chemistry / Unit 5   Chem 0816 short lesson, about 20 seconds

The Quantum Mechanical Model

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The idea

The quantum mechanical model describes an electron with a wavefunction, whose square gives the probability of finding it at a location.

In practice

Squaring hydrogen's ground-state wavefunction produces a probability cloud densest near the nucleus, thinning outward, rather than one fixed path.

Where people slip

A wavefunction gives probability, not certainty — it never predicts exactly where one electron will be found.

Your place on the trail

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