What Do We Mean When We Say That Energy Levels Are Quantized In Atoms?

(Correct Answer Below)

What Do We Mean When We Say That Energy Levels Are Quantized In Atoms?

Under what circumstances can energy level transitions occur?
Front

Advertisement

It means that there are certain discrete energy levels that an atom can attain, by promoting electrons to higher-energy orbitals. The energy state of an atom is not continuously variable: each possible orbital to which an electron can be promoted has a certain energy level. As an electron "drops" from a high-energy orbital to a lower-energy one, a discrete amount of energy is released in the form of a photon. Whether this is visible light, IR, UV, gamma or X ray depends on the photon's energy (and therefore its wavelength). Electrons that are tied to a nucleus have an energy, which dictates how far and where they can "orbit" around the nucleus. If they have more energy, they change there orbit. Quantized means that they can't change there energy to any value, but have to move if fixed jumps. One effect of this is that an electron in orbit can only absorb photons that will move it to one of its fixed energy levels. Electrons not tied to a nucleus can have any energy level. Rate
Enter another question to find a notecard:

About the flashcard:

This flashcard is meant to be used for studying, quizzing and learning new information. Many scouting web questions are common questions that are typically seen in the classroom, for homework or on quizzes and tests. Flashcards vary depending on the topic, questions and age group. The cards are meant to be seen as a digital flashcard as they appear double sided, or rather hide the answer giving you the opportunity to think about the question at hand and answer it in your head or on a sheet before revealing the correct answer to yourself or studying partner. Some questions will include multiple choice options to show you the options involved and other questions will just have the questions and corrects answers. Simply reveal the answer when you are ready to check your work. Absolutely no cheating is acceptable.

You May also Like:

[wcp-carousel id="1853"]