Video Transcript
Complete the following. In order to move from the K level
to the L level, an electron needs to absorb energy equal to blank. (A) The energy of both the K and L
levels. (B) Half the energy of the L
level. (C) Double the energy of the K
level. (D) The difference in energy
between the K and L levels. Or (E) any energy between the K and
L levels.
This question deals with the energy
levels of an atom. The energy levels in an atom are
the distances from the nucleus that describe the location of electrons. The nucleus is the positively
charged center of the atom. The energy levels surround the
nucleus. We can refer to them using capital
letters K through Q. Each energy level is a different
distance from the nucleus. The energy levels can also be
referred to by their level order, which are numbered one through seven in pink. The higher the energy level order,
the farther the energy level from the nucleus.
We are determining the amount of
energy needed for an electron to move from the level K to level L. The amount of energy absorbed can
be calculated. It is worth noting that the energy
levels closer to the nucleus are lower in energy than those farther away. We can assign an amount of energy
of level K as negative 13.6 and for level L as negative 3.4. To determine the energy absorbed to
move from level K to level L, we could use the energy difference. The energy difference of these two
levels is calculated by taking the final energy minus the initial energy. After its jump, the final energy of
the electron will be the energy of level L. We will subtract then the initial
energy, which is the energy of the level where the electron started, in this case
level K.
By subtracting the initial energy
from the final energy, we can find the energy needed. This would be the energy difference
of levels K and L. We can see that the correct answer
is answer choice (D), and we can now fill in the blank. In order to move from the K level
to the L level, an electron needs to absorb energy equal to the difference in energy
between the K and L levels.
