[dylancampbell]

The Schrodinger equation can be solved exactly for an electron trapped inside a box. For a cubical box, the quantized energies are given by the equation: En=n2h2/8ma2, where a is the length of the box, m is the mass of the electron, n is any non-zero integer, and h is Planck's constant.


1) For an electron in the lowest energy state inside a cube of length 0.80 nm (about the size of a typical molecule), calculate its energy in joules.

So I know that h=6.626x10^-34, m=9.109x10^-31 kg (mass of an electron), and a=.80. I am confused about what value to use for n? It says "lowest energy state", so I thougt you might have to use 1 for n, but I did not get the correct value. Can anyone help me on this one?

[Yggdrasil]

When doing calculations, always include units to make sure that they cancel out properly.  In this case, you need to convert the length of the cube to meters.