Why do hydrogen atoms emit bright lines of specific wavelengths rather than a continuous spectrum? Energy is emitted at wavelengths corresponding to specific transitions for the electron among the energy levels of hydrogen. Bohr’s theory explained the experimentally observed line spectrum of hydrogen exactly.
What determines the color of the hydrogen spectrum?
It’s a set of discrete lines determined by the changes in energy a hydrogen atom undergoes when exposed to energy. It gives off photons of discrete energies/wavelengths, hence the color of the lines.
What do the lines in the hydrogen line emission spectrum represent?
The lines in the hydrogen line emission spectrum represent the different shades of light that can be emitted as the electron of a ground state (neutral/“normal”) hydrogen atom jumps from different states. Why are there multiple lines?
Why can only certain wavelengths of light be emitted?
Explanation: Only certain energy levels are allowed, so only certain transitions are possible and hence specific wavelengths are emitted when an electron drops to a lower energy level. Conversely, an atomic electron can be promoted to a higher energy level when it absorbs a photon. Again because only certain transitions are allowed,...
Why is the spectrum of hydrogen called a continuous spectrum?
Remember that the hydrogen spectrum is not a continuous spectrum. It’s a set of discrete lines determined by the changes in energy a hydrogen atom undergoes when exposed to energy. It gives off photons of discrete energies/wavelengths, hence the color of the lines.
Why does hydrogen only produce light of specific frequencies?
The fact that hydrogen atoms emit or absorb radiation at a limited number of frequencies implies that these atoms can only absorb radiation with certain energies. This suggests that there are only a limited number of energy levels within the hydrogen atom.
Why does hydrogen emit only certain specific colors wavelengths or frequencies of light?
The transitions to 2 (3 to 2, 4 to 2, 5 to 2 etc) are in the visible region. This explains why hydrogen absorbs only specific wavelengths of light and emits only certain wavelengths. It is because the electrons can only be in these distinct orbitals.
Why does hydrogen produce so many spectral lines?
A hydrogen atom has only one electron, yet it contains a large number of shells. So, when this single electron jumps from one shell to another, a photon is emitted, and the energy difference of the shells causes different wavelengths to be released. Hence, mono-electronic hydrogen has many spectral lines.
Why do the lines occur at specific wavelengths?
An emission line will appear in a spectrum if the source emits specific wavelengths of radiation. This emission occurs when an atom, element or molecule in an excited state returns to a configuration of lower energy.
Why do atoms only emit light at specific wavelengths?
Because the atom can only absorb specific amounts of energy, only certain wavelengths of light will be absorbed.
Why can a hydrogen atom only emit light of specific discrete wavelengths?
Only certain energy levels are allowed, so only certain transitions are possible and hence specific wavelengths are emitted when an electron drops to a lower energy level. Conversely, an atomic electron can be promoted to a higher energy level when it absorbs a photon.
Why hydrogen atom gives so many spectral lines although it contains only one electron?
Each hydrogen atom contains one electron. The hydrogen atoms absorb different amounts of energy and go to different excited states. From there, they take different paths and come back to ground state. Since different paths are associated with different energies, different spectral lines are formed in the spectrum.
What do the lines in the hydrogen spectrum represent?
The observation of spectral lines is experimental evidence that proves that energy levels are discrete. Hence, one spectral line corresponds to one type of electron transition with corresponding transition energy given by the frequency of the spectral line.
Why do we only see 4 lines in the hydrogen emission spectrum?
1 Expert Answer. The key word here is "visible." The human eye is only sensitive to light with wavelength between about 400 and 700 nm. If you calculate the emission spectrum of hydrogen, you will find that only four emission lines have wavelengths in this range.
What produces a spectrum with bright lines?
Spectral Lines. A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from an excess or deficiency of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies.
Why are some spectral lines brighter than others?
These bright lines show that electrons have jumped from higher energy level to lower energy level. When electron jumps from some higher orbit,the energy released in the from of photon will be greater,and we get a brighter line. Thus in hydrogen spectrum some lines are brighter than others.
How do hydrogen atoms produce absorption lines?
An absorption line is produced when a photon of just the right energy is absorbed by an atom, kicking an electron to a higher energy orbit.
What wavelengths of light does hydrogen emit?
Emission of Light by Hydrogen This is why hydrogen's emission spectrum is the inverse of its absorption spectrum, with emission lines at 410 nm (violet), 434 nm (blue), 486 nm (blue-green), and 656 nm (red). The highest energy and shortest wavelength light is given off by the electrons that fall the farthest.
Why do atoms only emit certain colors of light?
As electrons move from higher energy levels to lower energy levels a photon (particle of light) will be given off. This is the process of emission. The photons will have different wavelengths and frequencies, this makes photons of different energies produce different colors of light.
Why do elements only emit certain colors?
Every element has a different number of electrons and a different set of energy levels. Thus, each element emits its own set of colours.
Why do only certain colors appear in the emission spectra of elements?
the fact that only certain colors appear in an elements atomic emission spectrum indicates that only certain frequencies of light are emitted. t or f? atomic emission spectra can be explained by the wave model of light.
What is the frequency of red light?
Red light with a wavelength of 700.0 nm has a frequency of 4.283 x 1014s-1. Substituting this frequency into the Planck-Einstein equation gives the following result.
How does an electron travel around the nucleus?
The electron in a hydrogen atom travels around the nucleus in a circular orbit . The energy of the electron in an orbit is proportional to its distance from the nucleus. The further the electron is from the nucleus, the more energy it has. Only a limited number of orbits with certain energies are allowed.
Which equation states that the energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency?
Planck's equation states that the energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency.
What is the optical spectrum of hydrogen?
Below is the optical spectrum for hydrogen. The distinct lines near 435 nm, 487 nm, and 655 nm show transitions from the 5th, 4th and 3rd energy shells, respectively, into the 2nd energy shell.
How many electrons does hydrogen have?
A hydrogen atom has one proton and one electron. That makes it easy to understand, and scientists can calculate exactly what energy the electron has in each shell. But hydrogen is also the least energetic element. Even the most energetic line hydrogen emits (when an electron drops down from the second shell to the first) has only enough energy to be an ultraviolet photon. So hydrogen atoms do not emit X rays.
What happens when an electron moves from one energy shell to a lower one?
So an electron moving from one energy shell to a lower one emits a photon of a specific energy. Since the energy and wavelength of the photon are related, we see this photon at a specfic wavelength in ...
How do electrons become excited?
An electron can become excited if it is given extra energy, such as when it absorbs a photon or if collides with a nearby atom or particle. An electron does not stay in an excited state for very long - it soon returns to the ground states. When it does so, a photon is emitted that has the same energy as the difference in ...
What does the picture on the right of the nucleus mean?
Notice that at the center, where the nucleus is, the picture is dark, indicating that the electron is unlikely to be there. The two bright regions, where the electron is most likely to be found, are really just one region.
How many protons are in carbon?
The more protons an element has, more energetic its lines can be. Carbon atoms (6 protons each) can emit X rays. But carbon lines are at the low end of X rays. Many X-ray instruments cannot detect these photons. Of the common elements in the universe , iron (26 protons) and oxygen (8 protons) usually are the two most prominent sources ...
Why do electrons drop in an excited state?
Because there are many energy shells in any particular atom, there are many different possible energies with different initial and final values. When an atom is in an excited state, the electron can drop all the way to the ground state, or stop in an intermediate level. Below is the optical spectrum for hydrogen.
What does frequency mean in electromagnetic radiation?
The frequency of electromagnetic radiation represents how many waves pass a given location per second.
Why was Bohr's theory discarded?
The theory was discarded because the calculated properties did not correspond closely to experimental measurements for atoms other than hydrogen.
What is an orbital?
An orbit refers to a definite, exact circular pathway around the nucleus. An orbital represents a region of space which there is a high probability of finding the electron.