Lyman VS Balmer series

[Madeline Ogden 3B]

Just to double check… I was told that if an electron falls from a higher energy level to n=1 then it’s in the Lyman series and if it falls to n=2 it’s in the Balmer series. I’ve also heard that this information depends on whether or not it’s on the emission or absorption spectrum. Is this correct?

[Brandon Pham 1H]

Yes, the only difference between the two is that
- Lyman Series comes to rest at n=1 (higher frequency, lower wavelength = UV radiation)
- Balmer Series comes to rest at n=2 (lower frequency, higher wavelength = visible light)

[Claire_Kim_2F]

Yes you are correct that for the Lyman series it has to drop down to the 1st level and for the Balmer it drops to the second electron level as the end result. Also if it is dropping that means energy is being emitted.

[Gabriel Nitro 1E]

Hi,

Yes that is correct! Recall in the context of hydrogen (H) atoms, electrons may leave the ground state (n=1) by getting excited by an incoming photon from a source of electromagnetic radiation. Now, in our discussion of Lyman and Balmer series we are interested in which energy level the excited electron drops down to, during which electromagnetic radiation is emitted in the form of light.

If the excited electron were to drop back down to the principal energy level (n=1) then it is considered a member of a Lyman series. However, if the excited electron were to drop back down to the principal energy level (n=2) then it is considered a member of a Balmer series. Now, it is important to note here that because the energy difference is so much larger for the Lyman series than that of the Balmer series, the form of electromagnetic radiation is more likely to be that of higher energies (as UV, X-ray, gamma rays, cosmic rays) as opposed to lower energies (as radio, microwave, infrared).

Hope this helps!

[Keeryth Sandhu 1H]

Yes, that is correct!

[BKoh_2E]

Yes, you're correct. Also remember that the Lyman Series corresponds with UV light, while the Balmer Series corresponds with visible light. Sometimes questions online provide the wavelength of the incident light, so memorize the general wavelength range for UV light & visible light.