Spectral Lines

[Samin Kabir]

Did he cover how to find spectral lines yet? If so, how would you calculate number of spectral lines? Would it be n-1 or something like that?

[SavannahScriven_1F]

He didn't cover how to find them yet. From my understanding, they are detected when a bunch of different frequencies of light are shined on an element. The lines only show up if they match a certain very specific energy level. So the numbers appear to be empirically derived from experimental observations rather than calculated. I don't know completely though, and it would be cool if there were a mathematical model to predict how many lines an element will emit!

[Josh Chou 3K]

I'm also a bit confused on this topic. Do we just take the difference between n-levels? For example, if an electron starts at the n=6 level and falls to the n=1 level, did it "pass" 5 spectral lines? And if an electron starts at the n=4 level and drops to the n=2 level, did it "pass" 2 spectral lines?

[David Jen 1J]

I'm also a bit confused on this topic. Do we just take the difference between n-levels? For example, if an electron starts at the n=6 level and falls to the n=1 level, did it "pass" 5 spectral lines? And if an electron starts at the n=4 level and drops to the n=2 level, did it "pass" 2 spectral lines?

I think what you are saying is correct because the textbook refers to spectral lines as energy levels of which an electron can have.

[SavannahScriven_1F]

He didn't cover how to find them yet. From my understanding, they are detected when a bunch of different frequencies of light are shined on an element. The lines only show up if they match a certain very specific energy level. So the numbers appear to be empirically derived from experimental observations rather than calculated. I don't know completely though, and it would be cool if there were a mathematical model to predict how many lines an element will emit!

I looked a little more into this and came up with a better response that hopefully answers your question. Let's say an election drops from n=4 to n=1. The emitted energy would then correlate to one spectral line of particular frequency. Now let's say the electron drops from n=4 to n=3, and then later to n=1. The emitted energy would then produce two spectral lines. There can be a number of factors (i.e. temperature) that influence how many levels an electron drops at a time. Hope this helps.

[Jaden Ji 2K]

He didn't cover how to find them yet. From my understanding, they are detected when a bunch of different frequencies of light are shined on an element. The lines only show up if they match a certain very specific energy level. So the numbers appear to be empirically derived from experimental observations rather than calculated. I don't know completely though, and it would be cool if there were a mathematical model to predict how many lines an element will emit!

I looked a little more into this and came up with a better response that hopefully answers your question. Let's say an election drops from n=4 to n=1. The emitted energy would then correlate to one spectral line of particular frequency. Now let's say the electron drops from n=4 to n=3, and then later to n=1. The emitted energy would then produce two spectral lines. There can be a number of factors (i.e. temperature) that influence how many levels an electron drops at a time. Hope this helps.

That's really cool! So the amount of times the electron drops equal the amount of spectral lines!

[Catherine Bubser 2C]

So when we are asked to identify the number of spectral lines that could appear when an electron drops levels, do we include the level it started at? I'm slightly confused still.

[Samin Kabir]

Thanks everyone this means a lot!