AAMC 7 Energy of electrons in H atom

[Whiteshoes]

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I understand why D is correct but if an electron moves from n=2 to n=3 doesn't that mean an electron was emitted to to the n=3 orbital? That was my reasoning for B.

in case it's too small..Question says, " The Energy, E, of a hydrogen atom with its electron in the nth shell of a hydrogen atom is given by E = -C/n^2 where n=1,2,3... and C is a positive constant. if an electron goes from the n=2 to n=3 shell:

 

[MedPR]

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I understand why D is correct but if an electron moves from n=2 to n=3 doesn't that mean an electron was emitted to to the n=3 orbital? That was my reasoning for B.

in case it's too small..Question says, " The Energy, E, of a hydrogen atom with its electron in the nth shell of a hydrogen atom is given by E = -C/n^2 where n=1,2,3... and C is a positive constant. if an electron goes from the n=2 to n=3 shell:

Answer B ("electron emitted") is saying that the electron is ejected from the atom completely. Being excited to another level does not mean "emitted" it just means "excited." Think about radioactive decay. Beta emission is the complete loss of an electron, not just excitation to another level.

 

[Whiteshoes]

answer b ("electron emitted") is saying that the electron is ejected from the atom completely. Being excited to another level does not mean "emitted" it just means "excited." think about radioactive decay. Beta emission is the complete loss of an electron, not just excitation to another level.

thanks!

 

[Class1P]

Electron emitted doesn't make any sense. That would only really happen in beta decay.

I got this one wrong because I knew that it was higher energy but based on the equation given I thought it was lower due to n and E being inversely proportional. I didn't, however, notice that it was a negative value.