Experiment #1

Atomic Emissions Spectra

Name: John Keenan

Section # CHEM 101-095

Introduction
The purpose of this experiment is to measure emission spectrum
wavelengths for the hydrogen atom, the mercury atom, and various other
sources with a spectrometer and to convert this data into a conclusion
regarding the energy transitions taking place within the molecule. The
theoretical framework behind this experiment can be explained by the Bohr
model, which states that electrons can reside in any of several fixed orbits
(stationary states) that surround the nucleus of the atom and the energy of
any such orbit with an orbit number n is
En=2.18 x 1018 J

( n1 )
2

Each of these orbits are related to a specific energy level and the farther
away an electron is from the nucleus, the higher the energy level and orbital
it is contained in. The amount of energy required to move from one orbit to
another is given by equation (2), where nf2 is the final orbit value and ni2 is
the initial orbit value.
E=2.18 x 1018 J

1 1

n2f n2i

Absorption occurs as the hydrogen atoms electron moves to a higher energy

orbit level after it becomes irradiated by electromagnetic radiation. Given
Plancks constant h (6.626 x 10-34joule-sec) and the speed of light c (3.00 x
1017 mm/sec), the amount of energy required for absorption can be
calculated with the expression
E=hv=

hc

Where is the wavelength and v is the frequency expressed in sec-1. The

ground state orbit (n=1) is the most stable configuration and uses the least
amount of energy. When an atom absorbs energy, an electron becomes
excited to a higher orbital. However, an atom with this configuration is
considered unstable, so the electron will rapidly release energy and return to
their more stable ground state. This process is responsible for the emission
lines observed through the spectrometer. When the electron relaxes to a
lower energy orbital, it will emit a photon of light that is proportional to the

change in energy levels. The transitions between orbitals that are further
apart in energy produce light that is higher in energy, and therefore shorter
in wavelength, than transitions between orbitals that are closer together.

Calculations and discussion

Wavelengths were used to calculate their respective energies using the
formula below. The calculations of the wavelength corresponding to the red
spectral line is shown in the following example.
hc

E=

(6.626 x 1034 Js )(3.00 x 1017 nm/s)

E =
(650 x 109 nm)
E =3.06 x 1019 J
Since all lines of the hydrogen spectrum that lie in the visible region
terminate in the second orbital, the final orbit number is 2. Using the
equation below allows us to calculate the initial orbit number. The hydrogen
red spectral line is shown below.
18

1 1

n2f n2i

E=2.18 x 10

( 3.06 x 1019 J )

1
1
2
2
( 2 ) ni

2.18 x 10

18

1
1
(1.40 x 101 J )+ = 2
4
ni
n2i =

ni=

1
1.10 x 101 J

1
1.10 x 101 J

ni=3.02

The initial orbital of the hydrogens red spectral line is n=3. The previous
steps were repeated for the blue and violet spectral lines. These calculations
are shown in Table 1-1.
Table 1-1

When compared to the actual values of the hydrogen spectral lines, some
discrepancies should be noted. Human error in observing the faint spectral
lines likely resulted in a measurement error for the blue-violet spectral line,
which should be in the 5th orbital.
The corresponding frequencies and energy differences were calculated for
Neon, Argon, and the fluorescent light. These values are summarized in Table
2-1.
Table 2-1

Conclusion

This report has discussed the emission spectrum wavelengths for the
hydrogen atom, the mercury atom, and various other sources. The objective
of this lab was to use the observed wavelengths to draw conclusions
regarding the energy transitions taking place within the molecule. This
objective was met as the excited state orbital level of a hydrogen electron
could be determined by using the measured data combined with Bohrs
model. Although a slight discrepancy was noted in measuring the blue-violet
spectral line of the hydrogen atom, the results were within the range of
values expected. This experiment supports Bohrs model and shows a
correlation between the excited state orbital and the wavelength measured
with the spectrometer.