Round 5: Tossup 3

This quantity’s operator appears in the exponential form of the time evolution operator. In the QHO, the eigenstates representing this quantity are separated by a factor of h-bar omega. This quantity’s operator contains two terms: h-bar squared over two-m times a second derivative, and V-of-x. In quantum mechanics, this quantity’s operator is represented by the (*) Hamiltonian; thus, H acting on psi equals this quantity times psi in the time-independent Schrodinger equation. The lowest value of this quantity in quantum mechanical systems is the ground state. For 10 points, (10[1])name this physical quantity, (-5[1])the sum of its kinetic and potential components. ■END■ (10[3])

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