The energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom whose electron is in the ground state (energylevel 1)is:
A)10.2 eV.
B)12.1 eV.
C)12.75 eV.
D)13.1 eV.
E)13.6 eV.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom from the ground state (n=1) to infinity (n=infinity) is given by the formula E = -13.6/n^2, where E is the energy in electron volts (eV) and n is the energy level. Plugging in n=1, we get E = -13.6/1^2 = -13.6 eV. Since ionization takes energy, we take the absolute value of E to get the energy required to ionize the atom, which is 13.6 eV. Therefore, the answer is E. The energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom whose electron is in the ground state is the energy difference between the ground state energy and the energy of the ionized atom. The ground state energy of a hydrogen atom is -13.6 eV. The energy of an ionized hydrogen atom is 0 eV. Therefore, the energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom in the ground state is 13.6 eV. So, the best choice is E.

The Energy Required to Ionize a Hydrogen Atom Whose Electron