134k views
4 votes
19

An emission spectrum shows two distinct lines separated by a small gap. What does this reveal?
A)
the electron dissipated into two photons
the electron took two jumps to return to its ground state
the electron emitted two photons simultaneously during its jump
the electron underwent the transition between a higher and ground state
twice

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

The electron took two jumps to return to its ground state.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the electron is in nth state then it first goes to (n-1)th to 2nd state and emits one photon of this energy gap. Then, it goes to ground state and emits another photon of different energy. It can emit
\left \{ {{n-1} \atop {2}} \right. types of different photons.
Fourth option is incorrect because in that case it emits one photon and absorbs one photon to go back to that state and also both photons are of same energy.

User Konrad Neitzel
by
6.4k points