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Q.The earth revolves around the sun in an orbit of radius 1.5×10111.5\times10^{11} m with an orbital speed of 30 km/s. Find the quantum number that characterises its revolution using Bohr's model in this case (mass of earth =6.0×1024= 6.0\times10^{24} kg).

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Bohr’s angular momentum quantization condition mvr=nℏm v r = n \hbar applied to Earth’s orbit gives the quantum number n≈2.6×1074n \approx 2.6 \times 10^{74}, an astronomically large number — showing why classical physics works for macroscopic objects.

The Bohr model was originally proposed for the hydrogen atom, where the electron’s angular momentum is quantized in units of ℏ=h/2π\hbar = h / 2\pi. The key idea is that for any object moving in a bound orbit under a central force, if we force the quantization condition L=nℏL = n\hbar, we can solve for the quantum number nn. For Earth, the angular momentum is enormous, so nn turns out to be huge — this is why quantum effects are invisible at our scale.

Let’s work through it step by step.

  1. Write down the quantization condition. Bohr’s postulate says that the angular momentum of a revolving body is an integer multiple of ℏ\hbar:

L=nℏL = n \hbar

For a planet in a circular orbit, L=mvrL = m v r, where mm is Earth’s mass, vv its orbital speed, and rr the orbital radius.

  1. Plug in the known values.

    Given:

    • m=6.0×1024 kgm = 6.0 \times 10^{24} \ \text{kg}
    • v=30 km/s=3.0×104 m/sv = 30 \ \text{km/s} = 3.0 \times 10^{4} \ \text{m/s}
    • r=1.5×1011 mr = 1.5 \times 10^{11} \ \text{m}
    • h=6.63×10−34 J⋅sh = 6.63 \times 10^{-34} \ \text{J·s}, so ℏ=h2π≈1.055×10−34 J⋅s\hbar = \frac{h}{2\pi} \approx 1.055 \times 10^{-34} \ \text{J·s}

    First compute the angular momentum:

L=mvr=(6.0×1024)×(3.0×104)×(1.5×1011)L = m v r = (6.0 \times 10^{24}) \times (3.0 \times 10^{4}) \times (1.5 \times 10^{11})

Multiply stepwise:

  • 6.0×3.0=18.06.0 \times 3.0 = 18.0
  • 1024×104=102810^{24} \times 10^{4} = 10^{28}
  • 18.0×1.5=27.018.0 \times 1.5 = 27.0
  • 1028×1011=103910^{28} \times 10^{11} = 10^{39} So L=27.0×1039=2.7×1040 kg⋅m2/sL = 27.0 \times 10^{39} = 2.7 \times 10^{40} \ \text{kg·m}^2/\text{s}.
  1. Solve for nn. From L=nℏL = n \hbar: n=Lℏ=2.7×10401.055×10−34n = \frac{L}{\hbar} = \frac{2.7 \times 10^{40}}{1.055 \times 10^{-34}} …

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