Questions

1. Based the animation, what is more important when determining the spectral frequencies of an atom: the energies of each orbit or the energy difference between two orbits?
2. The animation shows the Balmer series of spectral lines for hydrogen. What is always the lower energy state of each transition for the Balmer series?
3. The hydrogen atom is special in that all four of its spectral lines found in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum result from transitions to the same lower energy state. This made deducing the origin of atomic spectra much easier. All other series (Lyman, Paschen, etc.) are wholly contained either in the infrared region or the ultraviolet region. Are all the spectral lines of transitions down to n=1 found in the ultraviolet or infrared region? Are all the spectral lines of transitions down to n=3 or higher found in the ultraviolet or infrared region? (Hint: replay the movie and note whether larger energy differences shift toward the violet or toward the red region of the spectrum.)