The Lyman series of hydrogen appears in which region of the spectrum?

Correct answer: C. Ultraviolet

  • A. Infrared
  • B. Visible
  • C. Ultraviolet
  • D. Radio

Explanation

Every Lyman transition ends on the ground state, so the energy released is large and the photons are ultraviolet. Larger energy gaps always mean higher frequency and shorter wavelength. Working out which series a line belongs to is simply a matter of identifying the level it ends on.

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About Atomic Spectra

Atoms emit or absorb light at specific wavelengths because electrons occupy quantized energy levels and change levels by absorbing or releasing photons. The topic covers emission and absorption spectra, spectral series, hydrogen’s line spectrum, energy-level transitions, and the relation between wavelength, frequency and photon energy.

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