Final answer:
Lines of colored light created by passing light emitted by an element through a prism are called a) spectral lines. These form a line spectrum unique to each element, indicating quantized energy states of its atoms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term used for lines of colored light obtained by passing the light emitted by an element through a prism is a) spectral lines.
When an electric discharge passes through a gas, it emits light which, after being passed through a prism, displays only specific lines of light in the image. This is known as a line spectrum and is characteristic of the specific element because each element's atoms have quantized energy states that emit photons at specific wavelengths when excited.
For instance, when an electric discharge passes through hydrogen gas in a discharge tube, the light emitted can be passed through a prism to reveal a line spectrum composed of discrete wavelengths, indicating the presence of photons of specific visible wavelengths. This line spectrum is unique for each element and serves as a valuable analytical tool in physics and chemistry.