The energy of a photon that ionizes a hydrogen atom from the ground state will be _________ the energy of a photon that ionizes a different hydrogen atom from the first excited state (n - 2).
A)larger than
B)smaller than
C)equal to
D)twice

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom from the ground state is equal to the ionization energy of hydrogen, which is around 13.6 electron volts. On the other hand, the energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom from the first excited state (n-2) is lower than the ionization energy of hydrogen. Therefore, the energy of a photon that ionizes a hydrogen atom from the ground state will be larger than the energy of a photon that ionizes a different hydrogen atom from the first excited state.

The Energy of a Photon That Ionizes a Hydrogen Atom