Question3
8 points
In units of , what is the amount of energy associated with the transition from to in the hydrogen emission spectrum? ( h is Planck's constant and in the Rydberg equation, although you don't need to use these numbers in this problem.)
4
8 points
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
How much energy is released when an electron in a hydrogen atom jumps from a higher energy level (n=4) to a lower energy level (n=1), expressed in terms of *hR*?
Watch out!
Don't forget that the energy change is negative since energy is *released*!
But we're asked for the *amount* of energy, which is positive.
STEP 2
1. Rydberg Formula
2. Calculate the Energy Change
STEP 3
Alright, let's **start** with the Rydberg formula, which describes the energy change when an electron transitions between energy levels in a hydrogen atom.
It's like a secret code for the atom's energy!
The formula is:
Where is the **change in energy**, *h* is **Planck's constant**, *R* is the **Rydberg constant**, is the **initial energy level** of the electron, and is the **final energy level**.
STEP 4
Remember, a *negative* means energy is *released*, while a *positive* means energy is *absorbed*.
We're dealing with *emission* here, so we expect a negative value for .
STEP 5
Let's **plug in** our values.
We're given (the **initial level**) and (the **final level**).
So, we have:
STEP 6
Now, let's **simplify** those fractions:
STEP 7
To subtract the fractions, we need a **common denominator**, which is **16**:
STEP 8
Now, **subtract**:
STEP 9
The **energy change** is .
Since the question asks for the *amount* of energy, we take the absolute value, making it positive:
STEP 10
The amount of energy associated with the transition is .
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