The ground state energy of hydrogen atom is $-13.6 \mathrm{eV}$. When its electron is in the first excited…

The ground state energy of hydrogen atom is $-13.6 \mathrm{eV}$. When its electron is in the first excited state, its excitation energy is
  1. $3.4 \mathrm{eV}$
  2. $6.8 \mathrm{eV}$
  3. $10.2 \mathrm{eV}$
  4. zero

Solution

Key Idea : Excitation energy is defined as the energy required to take the electron from ground level orbit to any higher order orbit (ie, $n=2,3,4 \ldots)$. Given, ground state energy of hydrogen atom $E_1=-13.6 \mathrm{eV}$ Energy of electron in first excited state (ie, $n=2$)$ E_2=-\frac{13.6}{(2)^2} \mathrm{eV}$ Therefore, excitation energy $\begin{aligned} \Delta E & =E_2-E_1 \\ & =-\frac{13.6}{4}-(-13.6) \\ & =-3.4+13.6=10.2 \mathrm{eV} \end{aligned}$

Asked in: NEET 2008 (Screening)

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