How many rotational degrees of freedom does a rigid diatomic molecule have?

Question

How many rotational degrees of freedom does a rigid diatomic molecule have? (A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

Tardigrade Admin · Accepted Answer

<img class="img-fluid question-image" alt="image" src="https://cdn.tardigrade.in/img/question/physics/fdac8be49330eab97f22b08c094cd6a4-.png" /> A rigid diatomic molecule can store energy only by two possible ways of rotation, so it has only 2 rotational degrees of freedom.

Q. How many rotational degrees of freedom does a rigid diatomic molecule have?

0

1

2

3

A rigid diatomic molecule can store energy only by two possible ways of rotation,
so it has only $2$ rotational degrees of freedom.