Question

Why is the electron in a Bohr hydrogen atom bound less tightly when it has a quantum number of 3 than when it has a quantum number of 1?

a) Higher quantum numbers indicate higher energy levels.

b) Lower quantum numbers indicate higher energy levels.

c) Higher quantum numbers indicate stronger binding.

d) Lower quantum numbers indicate stronger binding.

Answer 1

The electron in a Bohr hydrogen atom is bound less tightly when it has a quantum number of 3 than when it has a quantum number of 1 because higher quantum numbers indicate higher energy levels.

Step-by-step explanation:

The electron in a Bohr hydrogen atom is bound less tightly when it has a quantum number of 3 than when it has a quantum number of 1 because higher quantum numbers indicate higher energy levels. In the Bohr model, the energy of the electron is quantized, meaning it can only have certain fixed values of energy indexed by the quantum number n. As the quantum number increases, the electron moves to higher energy levels and is less tightly bound to the nucleus.