A box contains N gas molecules. Consider the box to be divided into three equal parts.

(a) By extension of Eq. 20-20, write a formula for the multiplicity of any given configuration.

(b) Consider two configurations: configuration A with equal numbers of molecules in all three thirds of the box, and configuration B with equal numbers of molecules in each half of the box divided into two equal parts rather than three. What is the ratio WAIWB of the multiplicity of configuration A to that of configuration B?

(c) Evaluate WA/WB for N = 100. (Because 100 is not evenly divisible by 3, put 34 molecules into one of the three box parts of configuration A and 33 in each of the other two parts.)