An electron in a hydrogen atom moves from level 3 to level 1. In a second hydrogen atom, an electron drops from level 2 to level 1. Which statement describes the most likely result? The first atom emits light with more energy. The second atom emits light with more energy. The first and second atoms absorb energy without emitting light. The first and second atoms emit light with the same amount of energy.
Answers
If an electron is in the first energy level, it must have exactly -13.6 eV of energy. If it is in the second energy level, it must have -3.4 eV of energy. An electron in a hydrogen atom cannot have -9 eV, -8 eV or any other value in between.
Let's say the electron wants to jump from the first energy level, n = 1, to the second energy level n = 2. The second energy level has higher energy than the first, so to move from n = 1 to n = 2, the electron needs to gain energy. It needs to gain (-3.4) - (-13.6) = 10.2 eV of energy to make it up to the second energy level.
The electron can gain the energy it needs by absorbing light. If the electron jumps from the second energy level down to the first energy level, it must give off some energy by emitting light. The atom absorbs or emits light in discrete packets called photons, and each photon has a definite energy. Only a photon with an energy of exactly 10.2 eV can be absorbed or emitted when the electron jumps between the n = 1 and n = 2 energy levels.
The energy that a photon carries depends on its wavelength. Since the photons absorbed or emitted by electrons jumping between the n = 1 and n = 2 energy levels must have exactly 10.2 eV of energy, the light absorbed or emitted must have a definite wavelength. This wavelength can be found from the equation
E = hc/l,
where E is the energy of the photon (in eV), h is Planck's constant (4.14 x 10-15 eV s) and c is the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s). Rearranging this equation to find the wavelength gives
l = hc/E.
Answer:
The first atom emits light with more energy.
Explanation:
The first atom emits light with more energy.