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Chemistry LibreTexts

Operators Redux (Worksheet)

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Work in groups on these problems. You should try to answer the questions without referring to your textbook. If you get stuck, try asking another group for help.

Preamble

The order that operators are applied to a function can be very important.

Q1

Suppose that

ˆA=ddx

and

ˆB=x2

For any function f(x) what is ˆAf(x)?

What is ˆBf(x)?

What is ˆAˆBf(x)?

What is ˆBˆAf(x)?

Is ˆAˆBf(x)=ˆBˆAf(x)? Why?

When ˆAˆBf(x)=ˆBˆAf(x), the two operators commute. Do ˆA=ddx and ˆB=x2 commute?

Q2

Suppose that

ˆA=ddx

and

ˆB=10

What is ˆAf(x)?

What is ˆBf(x)?

What is ˆAˆBf(x)?

What is ˆBˆAf(x)?

Do ˆA and ˆB commute?


This page titled Operators Redux (Worksheet) is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Nancy Levinger.

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