Question

Boron trifluoride, BF3, is a pungent colorless toxic gas. This molecule consist of three atoms fluorine (F see figure below) and a boron (B) atom all lying in one plane. Each fluorine atom is equidistant from the boron atom with a spacing of 1.30x10-10m. The distance between each fluorine atom is 2.26x10-10m. The mass of each fluorine atom is 3.15x10-26kg and the mass of the boron atom is 1.79x10-26kg.

A) If this molecule rotates about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the molecule and passes through the boron atom, what is the moment of inertia of the system? Physicists and chemist use this type of information to investigate the rotational structure of molecules

B) If the molecule’s rotational frequency changes from 1.00x1014 revolutions/sec to 2.00x1014 revolutions/sec, how much work is done on the molecule? Convert your answer to the unit of millielectron volts (meV) by dividing your answer by 1.6x10-22Joule/meV

Answer 1