According to the Bohr theory, which of the following transitions in the hydrogen atom will give rise to the least energetic photon?
According to the Bohr theory which of the following transitions in the hydrogen atom will give rise to the least energetic photon? (a) n = 6 to n = 1 (b) n = 5 to n = 4 (c) n = 6 to n = 5 (d) n = 5 to n = 3
Answers
Answer: (b) n = 5 to n = 4. The amount of energy released in a transition is related to the difference in the energy between the electron in the initial and final states. The Bohr theory states that the energy of the electron in an atom is quantized - it can only have certain specific values - and the energy difference between one level and the next is directly proportional to the frequency of the emitted light. As the transition between n = 5 and n = 4 involves a smaller energy difference compared to the other transitions, it will emit a photon of the lowest energy.
