Understanding Electromagnetic Radiation and Electron Energy Transitions

These flashcards cover key concepts related to electromagnetic radiation, electron configurations, energy transitions, and periodic trends in ionization energy.

Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)

Energy that travels as waves including radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and X-rays.

Frequency (ν)

The number of wave crests that pass a point each second, measured in hertz (Hz).

Wavelength (λ)

The distance between two wave crests, measured in meters (m) or nanometers (nm) for visible light.

Energy (E)

The amount of energy carried by each photon, related to frequency by the equation E = hν.

Planck's constant (h)

A physical constant used to describe the sizes of quanta, approximately 6.63 × 10⁻³⁴ J·s.

Inverse relationship

A type of relationship where one variable increases while the other decreases, such as between frequency and wavelength.

Emission Spectrum

A spectrum showing bright-colored lines on a dark background, resulting from emitted photons.

Absorption Spectrum

A spectrum with dark lines on a rainbow background, where light has been absorbed by electrons.

Ionization Energy

The energy required to remove an electron from an atom, generally increasing across a period and decreasing down a group in the periodic table.

Ground State Configuration

The arrangement of electrons in an atom's lowest energy orbitals.

Quantum Numbers

Numbers that describe the properties of atomic orbitals and the electrons in those orbitals.