The electron in hydrogen atom is initially in the second excited state. When it finally moves to ground state, the maximum number of spectral lines emitted are

Step-by-step solution

The ground state of a hydrogen atom corresponds to the principal quantum number n = 1 . The second excited state corresponds to n = 3 . The maximum number of spectral lines emitted when electrons transition from an excited state n to the ground state is given by the formula: Number of spectral lines = n(n-1) 2 Substituting n = 3 into the formula: Number of spectral lines = 3(3-1) 2 = 3 The 3 possible transitions are: n = 3 n = 1 n = 3 n = 2 n = 2 n = 1 Answer: 3