Atomic emission spectra Transitional Reasoning Practice

Questions

1. 1.

   During a laboratory investigation, a student passes the light emitted by energized hydrogen gas through a prism and observes four distinct visible lines at 656 nm, 486 nm, 434 nm, and 410 nm. When white light from an incandescent bulb is passed through the same prism, an unbroken, continuous rainbow appears instead. Based on this observation, which statement correctly explains why energized hydrogen gas produces discrete spectral lines rather than a continuous spectrum?

   • A) Incandescent sources contain electrons confined to fixed orbits, whereas gaseous hydrogen atoms allow electrons to accelerate continuously across any arbitrary energy value.
   • B) Excited hydrogen electrons absorb photons only when dropping to lower energy levels, generating constructive wave interference at isolated visible wavelengths.
   • C) High electrical voltage causes hydrogen nuclei to undergo periodic vibrational oscillations that selectively filter and block background white light.
   • D) Electrons in hydrogen occupy discrete, quantized energy levels, and photons are emitted only when an electron drops from a higher level to a lower level with an energy equal to the difference between those levels.

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