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Emission and Absorption - Principles of Structural Chemistry

Atoms and molecules can absorb and emit light, revealing details about their atomic structure. Emission occurs when electrons return to lower energy levels and release photons of light. Absorption happens when electrons absorb photons and jump to higher energy levels. The color of emitted or absorbed light depends on the difference in energy levels. Absorption and emission spectra can show the number of distinct energy levels in an atom and the spacing between them.

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164 views2 pages

Emission and Absorption - Principles of Structural Chemistry

Atoms and molecules can absorb and emit light, revealing details about their atomic structure. Emission occurs when electrons return to lower energy levels and release photons of light. Absorption happens when electrons absorb photons and jump to higher energy levels. The color of emitted or absorbed light depends on the difference in energy levels. Absorption and emission spectra can show the number of distinct energy levels in an atom and the spacing between them.

Uploaded by

Leon Mpals
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chemistry
Navigation The Relationship Between Light and Matter >
Home Emission and Absorption
About Me
About Coe College Atoms and molecules can absorb and emit light, telling us how many different energy levels an
Contact Information electron has and how far apart the energy levels are spaced. Different colors of light are
The Relationship associated with different photon energies. Essentially, a photon is a packet of light. For example,
Between Light and a photon of red light would have less energy than a photon of blue light. This ties in with
Matter wavelengths because red has longer wavelengths than blue which results in less energy.
Light Properties Electrons only exist in shells, the area around a nucleus. Specific energy levels correspond to
Electromagnetic specific shells.
Spectrum
Emission and In an atom, the amount of energy levels that are allowed depend on the structure of protons and
Absorption electrons. Emission is the process of elements releasing different photons of color as their atoms
Field Spectroscopy return to their lower energy levels. Atoms emit light when they are heated or excited at high
Photoelectric Effect energy levels. The color of light that is emitted by an atom depends on how much energy the
Field Spectroscopy electron releases as it moves down different energy levels. When the electrons return to lower
(First Draft) energy levels, they release extra energy and that can be in the form of light causing the emission
Climate Change of light. On the other hand, absorbed light is light that isn't seen. Absorption occurs when
Greenhouse Gases electrons absorb photons which causes them to gain energy and jump to higher energy levels.
Lewis Dot
Structures
Polarity, Dipoles,
and Bonds
Molecular Shapes
Molecular
Vibrations
Gapminder
Statistics - BMI
Oxidation-Reduction
Reactions

Notice emission in the picture above. It shows the electron moving down energy levels. The color
of the light emitted would result from the amount of energy as it moves through shells.
Absorption is shown by the energy levels increasing as the photon gains energy. The
wavelengths shown relate to the amount of energy in the photon. Notice how the emitted light
:
wavelengths are shorter than the absorbed light wavelengths. This would indicate that the
emitted light has more energy in the photon than the absorbed light. The n=1, n=2, and n=3
represents the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shell orbitals. This is important because it shows the shells that
electrons move to when light is absorbed or emitted. The energy difference between orbitals can
be calculated by measuring the frequency of radiation. Absorption and emission of light can
reveal a lot about the structure of an atom.

Absorbed light is light that isn't seen while emitted light is light that is seen. Emission is when
electrons return to energy levels. Absorption is when electrons gain energy and jump to higher
energy levels. Absorption and emission of light reveals details about the atomic structure of an
atom by telling us the amount of energy levels and the space between the energy levels. Here is
a great YouTube video explaining and showing the excitement of electrons, emission,
and absorption.

Source:
ChemWiki

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