1E.1

[Aya Watson 2B]

Hi! On exercise 1 in Topic 1E in the textbook, it says:

Which of the following increase when an electron in a lithium atom undergoes a transition from a 2s-orbital to a 2-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?

From my understanding, all of the options increase for both lithium and hydrogen. Is it possible that for some elements they wouldn't all increase?

[Mikayla 2G]

For all atoms, the energy of the electron and the n value would increase because the electron is moving up energy levels.
The value of l may or may not increase depending on if the electron is moving into the same orbital (spd) at a different energy level
the radius of the atom may or may not increase depending on if the electron is moving from one of the inner shells to the outer shell. The radius would only increase if the electron was moving to a shell outside of the shells already occupied by the electrons of the atom.

Hope this helps

[Gabrielle Malte 2G]

Since we are given specific orbitals for the transition, 1s to 2p, these four variables would increase in all types of atoms. Li is representative of the changes in multi-electron atoms, and H is representative of changes in single electron atoms. In all atoms, an electron must gain energy in order to move up an orbital. Similarly, this addition of energy leads to an increase in the value of n, from n=1 to n=2. An electron in all atoms would also experience an increase in l, as it is moving from l=0 (s orbital) to l=2 (p orbital). Finally, whenever an electron jumps to a further available shell, the atomic radius increases, regardless of the type of atom