Textbook 1E. 1

[Adele Nguyen 2G]

1E.1 Which 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 a-d would increase for a lithium atom undergoes a transition from the 1s-orbital to a 2p-orbital. However, would this be the same case for a hydrogen atom? Hydrogen only has one electron so it would occupy only the 1s-orbital.

[Jessica Tam 3H]

Hi,
I believe it would all be the same for hydrogen as well because when you excite an electron, they can enter different shells or energy levels. As a result, the energy level of the hydrogen electron and the value of n would increase. The value of l would also increase when going from 1s to 2p because l=0 in the s orbital and l=1 in the p orbital. Lastly, the radius would also increase because moving to a different shell means the electron is farther away from the nucleus.
And if I recall from a past lesson, I believe there can be an infinite number of n.

[Simren Nagra 1D]

Yes, this would be the same case for Hydrogen. If an electron travels from the 1s to 2p orbital this means that the electron was excited and thus its energy increased, and because we are moving from n=1 to n=2, this means the value of 2 increases. l has different values in different energy levels, and thus this value must change as well. Finally, this movement of electron to a farther energy shell means the radius must have increased. Although Hydrogen is not a multi-electron atom, in this scenario, it would undergo the same changes as one that is!