Question

atomic emission spectra
purpose
to view atomic emission spectra and use a spectrometer to measure the wavelengths.
connections to what you already know about in life
all over the world there are neon lights glowing in business windows. unlike traditional light bulbs, there are no filaments of metal glowing in the bulb, but each colored tube is full of a different type of gas. you may see red, green, pink, purple or even different colors. these colors aren’t just made by colored glass, but by an electric current that causes the gas to glow distinctive colors. astronomers can also use the colors of different gases to identify what elements are present in distant stars.
vocabulary
spectra, spectrometer, wavelength, frequency, quantum
background
the emission spectrum of an element is the spectrum of frequencies of light that are emitted by an element when its atoms make a transition from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. the frequencies of the spectral lines correspond to the energy differences between the energy levels of a specific element. as each element has different energy levels, each element’s emission spectrum is unique.
procedure section 1

1. to start this activity, click this link for atomic emission spectra. the lab will load in a new tab. click back to this tab to read further instructions and complete the questions below. you can follow along with the instructions below in the procedures tab in the lab.
2. the spectrometer is on the right at the lab table. the emission spectra is in the live data with a graph of the intensity vs λ (wavelength).
3. click save screen above the spectra to save an image of the spectra to the lab book.

questions

1. how many distinct lines do you see?
2. what are the colors of the lines you see?

Explanation:

To answer the questions about atomic emission spectra, you would typically perform the lab activity as instructed (click the link, use the spectrometer, save the spectra image) and then:

For Question 1: "How many distinct lines do you see?"

After accessing the atomic emission spectra simulation (via the provided link) and examining the emission spectrum (in the "Live Data" with intensity vs. wavelength graph), you count the number of separate, distinct spectral lines visible. For example, if analyzing hydrogen’s emission spectrum, you might see 4 distinct visible lines (Balmer series), but this varies by element.

For the second question: "What are the colors of the lines you see?"

Again, after viewing the spectrum, you identify the colors of the distinct lines. For hydrogen, the visible lines are typically red, blue - violet, blue, and violet (or specific shades corresponding to their wavelengths: e.g., H - α is red, H - β is blue - green, H - γ is violet, H - δ is deep violet, though the exact count/colors depend on the element and the spectrum’s resolution in the simulation).

Since the questions require interacting with the lab simulation (clicking the link, using the spectrometer tool) to observe the spectra, the answers depend on the specific element’s spectrum in the provided simulation. For example, if the simulation is for hydrogen:

Answer:

for Question 1 (example, hydrogen):
4 (or the number of lines visible in the simulation’s hydrogen spectrum)