Sapling HW #8

[Sarina Mak 1B]

I do not understand how to determine if the line is from the Balmer Series or the Lyman Series if the blue line is observed at 486.1nm, and how does determining if the light is visible or ultraviolet determine the value of n1?

[Chanel Mao 3D]

Hi!
Since it is a "blue" line, you know that you are dealing with visible light. Therefore, the line would be from the Balmer series, because the Balmer series is associated with light in the visible range, while the Lyman series is associated with light from the UV range. If you are dealing with light in the UV range, n=1 would have to be the final state (because it is in the Lyman series). Hope this helps!

[claire ikemiya_2I]

Another good thing to keep you eye out for is key words like "observed" so you know right away it is visible light.

[Giselle Granda 3F]

To answer the first part of your question, the Lyman Series has a wavelength range of 97.3nm to 121.6 nm, while the Balmer Series includes a wavelength range of 410.2 nm to 656.3 nm. Therefore, the blue line with that wavelength would be a part of the Balmer Series. Remember that the Balmer Series is for visible light, while the Lyman series is for UV Radiation. Lastly, the ground state (or n1) for the Balmer Series is n1=2, while the ground state (or n2) for the Lyman series is n1=1. Hope this helps a bit!

[Kaitlyn Hernandez 3I]

The Balmer series is in visible light while the Lyman series is in ultraviolet light for hydrogen's spectral lines. The question asks for blue light and since blue light is in the visible light spectrum, we know that we have to use the Balmer series! Another way to look at it, 486.1 nm falls in the visible light spectrum so we'd know that the Balmer series will be used. Hope this made sense :)