An electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition from an initial state to a final state. The ionization energy of the initial state is 0.85 eV and the excitation energy of the final state (from the ground state) is 10.2 eV . If the ground state energy of the hydrogen atom is -13.6 eV , the energy of the photon emitted during this transition is

Step-by-step solution

The ionization energy of a state is the energy required to remove an electron from that state to infinity ( E = 0 ). Thus, the energy of the initial state is E_i = -0.85 eV . The excitation energy of a state is the energy required to excite the electron from the ground state to that state. Given the ground state energy is -13.6 eV , the energy of the final state is E_f = -13.6 eV + 10.2 eV = -3.4 eV . The energy of the emitted photon during the transition is the difference between the initial and final state energi