The hydrogen emission spectrum only shows a few discrete emission lines. This is because:

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks why the hydrogen emission spectrum displays only a few discrete emission lines.
First, we note that the hydrogen atom has quantized energy levels, meaning electrons can occupy only certain allowed energies.
When electrons transition between these fixed energy levels, photons are emitted or absorbed with specific energies (and thus wavelengths). This leads to a spectrum consisting of distinct lines rather than a continuous range of colors.
In hydrogen, the emission lines arise from transitions to lower energy levels from higher excited states, producing the characteristic Lyman, Balmer, and other series.
The core idea is that the discrete energy spacings come from the quantum nature of the electron’s allowed orbitals; if energy levels were continuous, the spectrum would be continuous as well, with no separate lines.
Note: the provided answer option explicitly states this quantization of energy levels as the reason for the discrete emission lines, which aligns with the fundamental quantum mechanical model of the atom.
Since no alternative answer choices were supplied in the prompt, there is no additional option to evaluate here; with the given correct statement, the explanation above captures why the spectrum is discrete.

The hydrogen emission spectrum only shows a few discrete emission lines. This is because:单项选择题

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