What is the unit m^-1?
The question I'm working on says "an electron in the hydrogen atom makes a transition from an energy state of principal quantum number nt to n=1. If the photon emitted has a wavelength of 95 nm, what is the value of nt?
I was trying to use the Rydenberg equation, which is:
(1/wavelength) = R infinity x ((1/n1^2)-(1/n2^2))
My textbook says that R infinity = 1.097 x 10^7 m^-1.
But, what does the m^-1 mean and how do I get my units to be the same so I can solve?
PLEASE help me out if you can! I've tried this problem so many different ways and I can't get a plausible answer!
1 answer
m^-1 means per meter and since R is measured in per meter the wavelength comes out in meters. So solve as you have suggested and convert the answer for wavelength in meters to nanometers. By the way, you want to substitute 1 for n1 and solve for n2.
1 answer