(a) Calculate the energy needed to compress three carbon-carbon single bonds and stretch three carbon-carbon double bonds to the benzene bond length 1.397 Å. Assume a harmonicoscillator potential-energy function for bond stretching and compression. Typical carbon-carbon single- and double-bond lengths are 1.53 and 1.335 Å; typical stretching force constants for carbon-carbon single and double bonds are 500 and 950 N/m.
(b) Use the result of (a) to calculate an improved β value for benzene from the data following Eq. (17.51).