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⚛️ Physics  ·  Atoms  ·  NEET & JEE

Photon energy for the transition n=3 to n=1 in hydrogen:

Answer: 12.09 eV.

  • A 12.09 eV
  • B 10.2 eV
  • C 13.6 eV
  • D 3.4 eV

Correct answer: A. 12.09 eV

Explanation: E = 13.6(1/1² - 1/3²) = 13.6(1 - 1/9) = 13.6 × 8/9 = 12.09 eV. This is the Lyman-alpha series.

Comparison of the Thomson model and the Rutherford model of the atom: in the Thomson plum pudding model alpha particles pass almost straight through a diffuse positive sphere, while in the Rutherford model a concentrated central nucleus deflects some alpha particles through large angles, with the lower panels showing the alpha particle source and gold foil and the observed result of wide-angle scattering

The Geiger–Marsden alpha-scattering result: a few alpha particles bounce back at large angles, which rules out Thomson’s diffuse model and demands a tiny, massive, positively charged nucleus. Image: Kurzon, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Concept context

Thomson's plum-pudding model, Rutherford's nuclear model from alpha-scattering, Bohr's postulates and hydrogen spectrum, spectral series (Lyman to Pfund), Rydberg formula, and limitations of each model.

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