Energy Level Diagrams

More about the Energy Model of the Hydrogen Atom

Some possible general types of diagrams that students have created when doing this assignment are shown below.

At this time none of the energy diagrams is more right or wrong than the others. We do not have enough information to distinguish exactly what transitions or initial and final energies occur in nature. Our model is limited by the knowledge that we have. Thus, all sets of energies and transitions that reproduce the spectrum are equally correct. (Scientists have more information to help distinguish the various possibilities, but that is not needed for our purposes.) We can create energy diagrams that provide all of the spectral lines rather easily. We need only a few energies to have sufficient transitions for all of the visible light. From this construction we conclude that an electron in an atom can have only a few energies. Otherwise we would see light of many more colors. This conclusion is somewhat surprising. When an electron moves in an atom, it might seem that the electron could have any one of many energies. But, nature does not behave that way. Instead electrons in atoms are limited to a very few discrete energies. We call these energies the allowable ones.

Energy levels for another gas

Repeat the steps to determine the energy levels and transitions necessary to produce the spectral lines emitted by another gas that is assigned by your instructor.
Sketch the resulting energy level diagram for the second gas think about how this energy level diagram for the second gas is similar and different from to the diagram for
hydrogen.