Question 1E 1

[Ashley Nguyen 2L]

Question 1E-1 states: w hich of the following increase when an electron in a lithium atom undergoes a transition from the 1s-orbital to a 2p-orbital? (a) Energy of the electron. (b) Value of n. (c) Value of
l. (d) Radius of the atom. Which answers would be different for a hydrogen atom and in what way would they be different?

I understand that each of the following a-d would increase, but does the fact that it is a lithium atom change any of the following answers? And how exactly would a lithium atom differ from a hydrogen atom in this example?

[Kavya Immadisetty 2B]

The answer at the back of the book says that it wouldn't matter if the element is H or Li.

[Brynne Burrows 3K]

I don't think the fact that it is a Lithium atom is as significant in this problem as the fact that it is going from the 1s-orbital to the 2p-orbital. This is what tells you that energy will increase, the value of l and n will increase, and the radius will increase because electrons are being added.

[805394719]

The answers would not change for H because the electron would still move to a higher energy level, and move to a different orbital. This change would result in the expansion of the atom which would cause the radius of the atom to increase in both scenarios. Therefore, the energy of the electron has increased, l has changed from 0 to 1, and the radius of the atom has also increased, and the value of n has increased since the electron moved from n=1 to n=2.