Atomic Energy Levels

• Electrons in an atom can have only certain specific energies
  • These energies are called?electron energy levels

   

• They can be represented as a series of stacked horizontal lines increasing in energy
• Normally, electrons occupy the lowest energy level available, this is known as the?ground state
• Electrons can gain energy and move up the energy levels if it absorbs energy either by:
  • Collisions with other atoms or electrons
  • Absorbing a photon
  • A physical source, such as heat

   

• This is known as?excitation, and when electrons move up an energy level, they are said to be in an?excited state
• If the electron gains enough energy to be removed from the atom entirely, this is known as?ionisation
• When an electron returns to a lower energy state from a higher excited state, it releases energy in the form of a photon

Electron energy levels in atomic hydrogen. Photons are emitted when an electron moves from a higher energy state to a lower energy state

Line Spectra

• Line spectra is a phenomenon which occurs when excited atoms emit light of certain wavelengths which correspond to different colours
• The emitted light can be observed as a series of coloured lines with dark spaces in between
  • These series of coloured lines are called?line?or atomic spectra

   

• Each element produces a unique set of spectral lines
• No two elements emit the same set of spectral lines, therefore, elements can be identified by their line spectrum
• There are two types of line spectra:?emission spectra?and?absorption spectra

Emission Spectra

• When an electron transitions from a higher energy level to a lower energy level, this results in the?emission?of a photon
• Each transition corresponds to a different wavelength of light and this corresponds to a line in the spectrum
• The resulting emission spectrum contains a set of discrete wavelengths, represented by coloured lines on a black background
• Each emitted photon has a wavelength which is associated with a discrete change in energy, according to the equation:

• Where:
  • ΔE?= change in energy level (J)
  • h?=?Planck’s constant?(J s)
  • f?= frequency of photon (Hz)
  • c?=?the speed of light?(m s-1)
  • λ?= wavelength of the photon (m)

   

• Therefore, this is evidence to show that electrons in atoms can only transition between discrete energy levels

Emission spectrum of Hydrogen gas

Absorption Spectra

• An atom can be raised to an excited state by the absorption of a photon
• When white light passes through a?cool, low pressure gas?it is found that light of certain wavelengths are missing
  • This type of spectrum is called an absorption spectrum

   

• An absorption spectrum consists of a?continuous spectrum?containing all the colours with dark lines at certain wavelengths
• These dark lines correspond exactly to the differences in energy levels in an atom
• When these electrons return to lower levels, the photons are emitted in all directions, rather than in the original direction of the white light
  • Therefore, some wavelengths appear to be missing

   

• The wavelengths missing from an absorption spectrum are the same as their corresponding emission spectra of the same element

Absorption spectrum of Hydrogen gas

• The difference between two energy levels is equal to a specific photon energy
• The energy (hf) of the photon is given by:

ΔE?=?hf?=?E2?-?E1

• Where:
  • E1?= Energy of the higher level (J)
  • E2?= Energy of the lower level (J)
  • h?=?Planck’s constant?(J s)
  • f?= Frequency of photon (Hz)

   

• Using the?wave equation, the wavelength of the emitted, or absorbed, radiation can be related to the energy difference by the equation:

• This equation shows that the larger the difference in energy of two levels ΔE?(E2?- E1) the shorter the wavelength?λ?and vice versa

Part (a)

• • Photon energy and wavelength are inversely proportional
  • Therefore, the largest energy change corresponds to the shortest wavelength (line S)
  • The smallest energy change corresponds to the longest wavelength (line L)

Part (b)