Help - energy of a photon

[Yael]

hi,

i have a question...
i was asked to compute the shortest wavelength in each of these hydrogen spectral series: Lyman, Balmer, Paschen and Bracket - which i did...

in the second part i need to compute the energy (in electron volts) of the highest energy photon produced in each series.

my problem is with the second part...

can anyone please help ?

 

[Chi Meson]

Interesting, I would expect the second part to come first.

The highest energy photon has the shortest wavelength; you're being asked for the same photons. You need the relationship between wavelength and energy (featuring Plank's constant).

 

[kyle8921]

Sure, I'd be happy to help. The energy of a photon is determined by its wavelength according to the equation E = hc/λ, where h is Planck's constant (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s) and c is the speed of light (3.00 x 10^8 m/s).

To compute the energy of the highest energy photon in each series, you will need to know the shortest wavelength in each series, which you have already calculated. Simply plug in the value for the shortest wavelength into the equation and solve for energy in electron volts (eV).

For example, in the Lyman series, the shortest wavelength is 91.2 nm. Plugging this into the equation gives an energy of 13.6 eV for the highest energy photon. Repeat this process for the other series and you will have the energy of the highest energy photon in each.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.