Asked by kelvin calin

What causes the appearance of lines in an emission spectrum?

Light is absorbed as an electron moves to a higher energy state.
Light is released as an electron moves to a lower energy state.
An electron is released as light when it moves to a lower energy state.
An electron is released as light when it moves to a higher energy state.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Light is released as an electron moves to a lower energy state.

When an electron in an atom drops from a higher quantized energy level to a lower one, it emits a photon whose energy equals the difference between those levels. The discrete energy differences produce discrete wavelengths (lines) in the emission spectrum.