A blue line is observed at 486.1 nm in the spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Determine the values of n for the beginning and ending energy levels of the electron during the emission of energy that leads to this spectral line.
i am totally lost w this question. could someone explain what other info i need/how to start this problem. i'm also not sure what equation to use
sapling no. 8
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Kaylee Messick 3J
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Re: sapling no. 8
Hello! For this problem, you are trying to determine the energy levels (n). You already know the ending energy level because the problem states that blue light was emitted (visible light), which belongs to the Balmer series. Then to find the starting value of n, you could either use the Rydberg equation or calculate the initial and final energy using E = (-hR)/n^2, for each energy level, then solve for n (initial). Hope this helps!
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JaylinWangDis1L
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Re: sapling no. 8
Hi!
This is how I went about this problem. I know the question mentions atomic hydrogen so I know you would need to use Rydberg's equation to solve.
Then, you need to determine what series this belongs to and you can do this by looking at the given wavelength and seeing what range it is in, or, since the problem states that it is "blue light", you know that belongs to the visible spectrum (Balmer series). The ground state for the Balmer series is n = 2. So, you now know that the energy level n1 = 2.
Rydberg's equation involves frequency and you are given the wavelength, so plug in the given wavelength value into the equation:
frequency = (c)(wavelength) to solve for frequency.
After this, you would rearrange Rydberg's equation to solve for n2, and plug in the values that you determined from the prior steps to do so. Hope this helps!
This is how I went about this problem. I know the question mentions atomic hydrogen so I know you would need to use Rydberg's equation to solve.
Then, you need to determine what series this belongs to and you can do this by looking at the given wavelength and seeing what range it is in, or, since the problem states that it is "blue light", you know that belongs to the visible spectrum (Balmer series). The ground state for the Balmer series is n = 2. So, you now know that the energy level n1 = 2.
Rydberg's equation involves frequency and you are given the wavelength, so plug in the given wavelength value into the equation:
frequency = (c)(wavelength) to solve for frequency.
After this, you would rearrange Rydberg's equation to solve for n2, and plug in the values that you determined from the prior steps to do so. Hope this helps!
Last edited by JaylinWangDis1L on Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: sapling no. 8
So you know that this is the Balmer series because of the visible blue line which means n1=2. Use the rydberg equation of v=R( (1/n1^2) - (1/n2^2) ). We know frequency equals c/λ. Make sure to convert the wavelength to meters. Once you plug in all your values, you should be able to solve for n2.
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