Electron excited from the ground state to a quantum state

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the calculation of energy levels for an electron transitioning from the ground state to a quantum state in a helium atom. The energy formula used is ##E_{n}=\dfrac {-13.6z^{2}}{n^{2}}eV##, where the user correctly calculates the ground state energy at n=1 as -54.4 eV and the energy at n=3 as -6.04444 eV. The user identifies a discrepancy in the calculated wavelength of 25.6 nm compared to an online solution of 102 nm, concluding that the online solution likely pertains to hydrogen rather than helium. The user confirms their understanding of angular momentum and magnetic quantum numbers, affirming their calculations are accurate.

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  • Knowledge of angular momentum in quantum systems
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jisbon
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Homework Statement
The electron in a He+ atom is excited from ground to quantum state n=3 by radiation.
i.Calculate the wavelength of the radiation
ii.Calculate the magnitude of orbital angular momentum
iii.Calculate the magnitudes of the possible orbital angular momentum in z-direction
Relevant Equations
##E_{n}=\dfrac {-13.6z^{2}}{n^{2}}eV##
Hi there, popping by here to check my answer because another online platform has already answered it but my answer appears to be wrong. I can't seem to understand why though :/

Since I can find the energy at a state to be ##E_{n}=\dfrac {-13.6z^{2}}{n^{2}}eV##
At ground state where n=1,
##E_{1}=\dfrac {-13.6(2)^{2}}{1^{2}}eV = -54.4eV##
And at n=3,
##E_{3}=\dfrac {-13.6(2)^{2}}{3^{2}}eV = -6.04444...eV##
Since photon energy ##E_{p}h=hf=\dfrac {hc}{\lambda }=\dfrac {1240}{\lambda }eV ##
Shouldn't it just be:
## -6.04444...eV-(-54.4eV) = \dfrac {1240}{\lambda }eV##
and the wavelength I got is 25.6nm, which is a far cry from the online solution which is 102nm :/

As for part ii, since ##L=\sqrt {l\left( l+1\right) }\hbar##, and l must be =1 due to the selection rule of allowed transitions, hence ##L=\sqrt {2}\hbar ##?

And lastly for part iii, since ##m_{l}## is -1,0,1 , ##L_{z}## must be ##\hbar## or -##\hbar##?

Cheers
 
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jisbon said:
and the wavelength I got is 25.6nm, which is a far cry from the online solution which is 102nm :/
Looks like they did the calculation for hydrogen, not helium.
 
gneill said:
Looks like they did the calculation for hydrogen, not helium.
So my answer/thought process is correct in this case? Thanks
 
jisbon said:
So my answer/thought process is correct in this case? Thanks
Yup. Certainly looks that way.
 
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gneill said:
Yup. Certainly looks that way.
Guess I can't trust all online solutions :/ Thanks for the clarification :D
 
You're most welcome. Here we regularly spot errors in other site's purported solutions.
 
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