Light, Energy, and the Hydrogen Atom
a. Which has the greater wavelength, blue light or red light?
b. How do the frequencies of blue light and red light compare?
c. How does the energy of blue light compare with that of red light?
d. Does blue light have a greater speed than red light?
e. How does the energy of three photons from a blue light source compare with the energy of one photon of blue light from the same source? How does the energy of two photons corresponding to a wavelength of 451 nm (blue light) compare with the energy of three photons corresponding to a wavelength of 704 nm (red light)?
f. A hydrogen atom with an electron in its ground state interacts with a photon of light with a wavelength of 1.22 × 10–6 m. Could the electron make a transition from the ground state to a higher energy level? If it does make a transition, indicate which one. If no transition can occur, explain.
g. If you have one mole of hydrogen atoms with their electrons in the n = 1 level, what is the minimum number of photons you would need to interact with these atoms in order to have all of their electrons promoted to the n = 3 level? What wavelength of light would you need to perform this experiment?