O'Leary Lecture 2

Question 1

What are the different quantized energy states?

Answer 1

Electronic, vibrational, rotationla, translational

Question 2

What does it mean to be a quantized state?

Answer 2

They all have discrete energies

Question 3

What causes a charge redistribution?

Answer 3

oscillating electromagnetic wave interacting with electric dipoles
- leads to a transition from one state to a high-energy state
- energy from the EM radiation will be absorbed

Question 4

How can we calculate the power transferred from an EM wave?

Answer 4

ΔE=hv=hc/λ
- determines absorption wavelength

Question 5

What are chromaophores?

Answer 5

molecules absorbing light

Question 6

What do the different types of absorption spectroscopy measure?

Answer 6

Electronic: optical (transitions between electronic states)
Rotational: μ-wave
Vibrational: infrared, Raman

Question 7

What states are involved in optical transitionals?

Answer 7

π-π* and n-π*
- amino acid side chains and carbonyl groups, as well as nucleic acid bases