I don't get it

[Fancy312]

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Can someone please explain this question to me on how they get the answer, I've read explanations but for some reason I am still confused and i feel dumb for asking this lol


Which of the following electronic transitions in the hydrogen atom would involve an emission of a photon of the shortest wavelength?

• n=1 to n=5
  
  
• n=3 to n=1
  
  
• n=3 to n=2
  
  
• n=5 to n=1
  

 

[dnp123]

Ask chad if u dont know an answer to that question.

 

[Cool Beans]

Emissions occur when you go from a higher shell number to a lower shell number whereas absorptions occur when you go from a lower shell number to a higher shell number so we'll only consider the former and rule out n=1 to n=5.

The shortest wavelength corresponds to the highest energy photon and the energy of the photon corresponds to the difference in energy between the shells of the hydrogen orbital. So we'll be looking for the largest drop in energy which in this case corresponds to the largest decrease in shell number (n=5 to n=1).

 

[8_man]

Heres the cold hard facts in layman terms.

Closer to the nucleus? More attraction, so more energy needed to move from here.

Further from the nucleus? Less attraction, so less energy needed to move from here.

n=1 is close
n=5 is far

Energy is absorbed to move outward. Energy is released to move inward.

Lemme know if you need more info.

 

[Fancy312]

Thank you so much guys 🙂