LESSON 2:

Bohr’s Model of
Hydrogen Atom
Reminders:
• Turn on your video and mute your microphone.
• Use of chat box to address your questions or
clarifications.
Objective:
• Describe the Bohr’s model of hydrogen atom
• Calculate the energy absorb and/or emit by electrons.
• When white light is passed through a prism, its component waves
are refracted based on their different wavelengths.
• This leads to the observation of a continuous spectrum: a wide
band of colors with no gaps.
• When a substance is energized using high
temperature or high-voltage charge,
electromagnetic radiation is emitted and
will register its own emission spectra.
• For the case of the Hydrogen Atom,
scientists were first baffled with its
resulting spectra.
• Instead of an expected continuous
spectrum, what they observed was line
spectrum made up of discrete lines which
corresponds to different wavelengths.
• The Hydrogen atom emitted radiations of
only selected frequencies.
• To offer up an explanation for the
observed Hydrogen Atom spectra,
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) proposed
his own theory of the hydrogen's
atomic model known as Bohr's
Planetary Model.
• This model proposes that the
electron not only surrounds the
nucleus of the atom as Rutherford
proposed, but specifically surrounds
the nucleus in orbits.
Rutherford Model Bohr Model
Here are some of the specific assumptions under Bohr's
Theory:
• The electron of the hydrogen atom can
be found in specific allow able circular
orbits, called energy levels or shells,
surrounding the nucleus. Each orbit has
a designated integral value n
(1,2,3,4..), with the lowest value 1
assigned to the orbit closest to the
nucleus and increasing with distance
from the nucleus.
• When an electron is as close to the
nucleus as possible, it is considered to
be in a ground state and is stable.
• When energy is supplied to the atom,
the electron absorbs energy and jumps
to an outer orbit. The electron is then
considered to be in an excited state.
• When an electron jumps back to a
lower orbit, it emits a photon with an
energy equal to the difference in
energy of high-energy orbit it once
occupied and the low-energy orbit it
came back to.
The energy of the photon can be computed as
follows:
:where RH is the Rydberg constant, named
after Johannes Rydberg and has a value of
2.179x10^-18 J.

• This emitted photons produces the observed spectral line. The emission
spectrum is of a characteristic line spectrum. This is because energies of each
orbit are quantized since it is dependent on n which has discrete integral
values.
Example #1
• How much energy is emitted when an electron transitions from energy level n=4
to energy level n=2?

1 1
= −2.179x10^−18 J −
2^2 4^2
1 1
= −2.179x10^−18 J −
4 16
= −2.179x10^−18 J (0.1875)
= −4.086x10^−19 J
Example #2
• The electron volt (eV) is a convenient unit of energy for expressing atomic-scale energies. It is the amount
of energy that an electron gains when subjected to a potential of 1 volt; 1eV=1.6×10−19J . Using the Bohr
model, determine the energy, in electron volts, of the photon produced when an electron in a hydrogen atom
moves from the orbit with n=5 to the orbit with n=2 .
Conversion factor:
1ev = 1.6x10−19 J

1 1 −4.576x10^−19 J x 1 eV
= −2.179x10^−18 J −
2^2 5^2 1 1.6x10^-19 J
1 1
= −2.179x10^−18 J − = -2.86 eV
4 25
= −2.179x10^−18 J (0.21)

= −4.576x10^−19 J
Example #3
• Using the Bohr model, determine the energy in joules of the photon produced when an electron
in a Li2+ ion moves from the orbit with n = 2 to the orbit with n = 1. What is the frequency of the
photon? What is the wavelength in nm?

1 1
= −2.179x10^−18 J −
1^2 2^2
1 1
= −2.179x10^−18 J −
1 4
= −2.179x10^−18 J (0.75)
= −1.634x10^−18 J
What is the frequency of the photon? What is the wavelength in nm?
= −1.634x10^−18 J

1.634x10−18 J 3x108 m/s

6.626x10−34 J. s 2.47x1015 1/s

= 0.247x1016
1/s = 1.21x10−7 m
Conversion factor:
= 2.47x1015 Hz 1nm = 10−9 m
1.21𝑥10^ − 7 m x 1 nm
1 10^-9 m
= 121 nm
Example #4
• What is the wavelength of the photon that will cause an electron in the n=4 energy level of hydrogen atom
jump to n=6?
ABSORBED RELEASED

1 1
= 2.179x10^−18 J −
42 62

1 1
= 2.179x10^−18 J −
16 36
= 2.179x10^−18 J (0.0347)

= 7.566x10^−20 J
• What is the wavelength of the photon that will cause an electron in the n=4
energy level of hydrogen atom jump to n=6?

𝒉𝒄
λ = 𝟕. 𝟓𝟔𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟎 𝐉
𝑬

𝟔.𝟔𝟐𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟑𝟒 𝐉.𝐬(𝟑𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔)

λ =
𝟕.𝟓𝟔𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟎 𝐉
𝟏𝟗.𝟖𝟕𝟖𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟔 𝐉.𝐬(𝒎/𝒔)
λ =
𝟕.𝟓𝟔𝟔𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟎 𝐉

λ = 2.62x10^-6 m
Example #5
• An electron in the n=3 state absorbs a photon with a wavelength of 1283.45 nm. Into what energy level will
the electron jump to?

6.626𝑥10−34 J.s(3x108 m/𝑠) 1.549𝑥10−19 J

1283.45𝑛𝑚
𝑚
19.878x10−26 J.𝑠( ) 1 1
𝑠 1.549𝑥10−19 J= −2.179x10^−18 J −
−9
1283.45𝑥10 𝑚 𝑛𝑓 2 32

0.01549𝑥10−17
1.549𝑥10−19 J
 1 1
= −0.07112 = - 𝑛𝑓 2
= √ 25
𝑛𝑓2 9 √

+
1
+
1 𝑛𝑓 = 5
9 9

1
= 0.04=
𝑛𝑓2 An electron in the n=3 state absorbs a photon
0.04 1 with a wavelength of 1283.45 nm. Into what energy level
= = will the electron jump to?
1 𝑛𝑓2
= 1 =0.04nf^2

1 0.04nf^2
= =
0.04 0.04