Question

What effect did the Uncertainty Principle have on Schroedinger's model of the atom?

A) The charges on protons and electrons were found to oscillate back and forth.
B) The formula was altered to account for the uncertainty of quantum physics.
C) The locations of electrons in an atom are expressed in terms of probabilities.
D) The existence of atoms themselves was brought into question.
E) None. The Uncertainty Principle was not used by Schroedinger to derive his formula.

Answer 1

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle led to the representation of electron locations in an atom as probabilities, influencing Schrödinger's quantum mechanical model which uses wavefunctions to describe electron distributions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The effect of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle on Schrödinger's model of the atom is significant. While Erwin Schrödinger did not use the Uncertainty Principle to derive his wave equation, his model of the atom was profoundly influenced by the principles of quantum mechanics, which include the Uncertainty Principle. Instead of well-defined orbits for electrons, as in classical models like Bohr's, Schrödinger's quantum mechanical model treats electrons as wavefunctions, which describe probability densities.

According to the wave-particle duality, and consistent with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, electrons are described by the Schrödinger equation as stationary waves. Their locations are not precise points in space but rather are represented as probabilities of being in certain areas, forming a 'cloud of probability' around the nucleus.

Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is C) The locations of electrons in an atom are expressed in terms of probabilities.