Question

Number 2. Thank you

2. (2pt) Why do atomic emission spectra come in the form of lines instead of broad bands that span whole regions of the electromagnetic spectrum? Atoms have quantized energy Tevels, they react to principal quantum numbers n=1,2,..

Answer 1

Emmision spectra occurs when electrons from a higher energy level move down into a lower energy level by releasing a photon of energy equal to the difference in energy between the two levels. Since energy levels within an atom are quantised, thus means that only certain inetgral multiples of energy can be obtained via emission spectrum meaning the lines occur as lines corresponding to each value rather than a broad band for a range of energy.