2.

1 Bohr’s Atomic Model

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
a) Describe Bohr’s atomic model
b) Calculate the energy of an electron at an energy level
c) Calculate the energy of electronic transition
d) Calculate the energy of a photon
e) Explain electronic transition according to Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, Brackett,
and Pfund series.
f) Calculate ionisation energy
g) Perform calculations using Rydberg equation
h) State the limitation of Bohr’s atomic model
i) State the dual nature of electron using de Broglie’s postulate and
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
 Flame
Spectrophotometry
An experiment to prove the existence of different
substances
Bohr’s Experiment
Bohr’s
Experiment
• In 1913, Neils Bohr did an
experiment to study the
emission of light when
hydrogen gas is excited.
• H2 was gas trapped in a
tube and electrical
current pass through it.
• The H2 gas then glowed
pink and the light
emitted is passed
through a lens and then
prism.
• The light then diffracted
and refracted into lines
(instead of rainbow).
Hydrogen Emission Tube

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Emission spectra

Emission
Spectrum

Discontinuous
Continuous
Spectrum/ Line
Spectrum
Spectrum
 Findings from Bohr’s Experiment

Balmer series of Hydrogen Emission Spectrum. This is the only visible series of hydrogen
emission spectrum.

As these lines corresponds to light with different energies, Neils Bohr came up with four
postulates to explain these lines.

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The postulates
From Bohr’s experimental
findings
Postulate 1:
Electron circling
around

• Electron moves around

the nucleus in a fixed
orbit.
H
1

• Despite being a charged 1

particle, the electron

does not emit energy
whilst moving in its orbit.
• The electron does not
accelerate nor decelerate
in its orbit.
Postulate 2: Energy of
electron is quantised

• Electron can only move in a designated orbit which

corresponds to specific energy.
• It can be in any of these orbits, but not in between.
• Each of these orbit has specific energy
Postulate 3: Electrons at ground
state under normal condition
Energy of
• Under normal condition, electron
electron is at its lowest
energy state called the
ground state. Electron at excited
• The electron can be state
excited from lower
Excitation
energy state to higher
Electron at ground
energy state through a state
process called excitation.
Postulate 4: Electrons at excited
state is unstable
Energy of
• At excited state, electron is electron
unstable as it contains a lot of
potential energy.
• It will spontaneously lose its
energy to go back to lower
energy level. Electron at excited
state - unstable
• This energy released has specific
value due to quantised energy
level of an electron Light released

• The energy is released in the Electron at lower

form of photon (light), which is energy level
equivalent to the difference of
energy levels
Bohr’s Atomic
Model
Energy of electron
Bohr’s Atomic Model
• Based on these postulates, Neils Bohr, together with Ernest Rutherford
came up with the following equation to signify the energy level of an
electron:
Example 1
Calculate the energy level of an electron in hydrogen atom at
the following energy levels:
RH = 2.18 x 10-18 J Energy level,
Energy (J)
n

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Bohr’s Atomic Model
• From this equation, energy when the electron is infinitely
far from the nucleus, the energy is taken to be 0.

• When electron is very close to the nucleus (n = 1), the

electron is tightly bound to the nucleus, and it has a
negative value due to the force of attraction between the
electron and the nucleus.
Energy of an electron in an atom

Energy of an electron in Bohr's Atomic Model

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0.00E+00 Energy level

-2.00E-20
When the energy of an
-4.00E-20
electron is plotted against the
-6.00E-20 energy level, n. This graph is
Energy (J)

produced.
-8.00E-20

-1.00E-19 From this graph, we an

electron is getting further
-1.20E-19
away from nucleus, the energy
-1.40E-19 is approaching zero as its
n=1 attraction towards the nucleus
-1.60E-19
is getting weaker.
 //Energy
absorbed by
electron //
Electronic
//Energy released
transition by electron//
Differences in energy level
• By using the energy of each energy level, the differences of
energy level can be obtained.

ni

nf
Electronic Transition
• This equation can be used to show any changes in energy of
an electron in hydrogen atom, whether energy is released or
absorbed.
Energy level diagram for the hydrogen atom

n=
Potential energy

n=4
n=3
n=2
Energy Energy
absorbed released
n=1
Example 2
An electron in a hydrogen atom is excited from its ground
state (n = 1) to its excited state at n = 7. Calculate:

a) The energy required by the electron to reach the excited

state.
b) The energy released if the electron transition from its
excited state to n = 3
c) The energy released in (b) if there are 0.75 mol of H
atoms.
Example 2
Solution:
How does the energy
released can be seen as
lines?
c = speed of light = 3.0 x 108 m s-1
ν = frequency of light (-1)
• The energy released by an λ = wavelength of light (m)
electron corresponds to
the energy of photon
released.

• The energy of photon can ν = frequency of light (-1)

be calculated using the ∆E = energy of photon (or light) (J)
following formula: h = Planck constant = 6.63 x 10-34 J s
Example 3
An excited electron in a hydrogen atom transition from n = 7
to n = 2. Calculate

a) the energy emitted by the electron

b) The wavelength of the photon released in nm.
Example 3
Solution:
 Rydberg Formula

This
nf = final energy level corresponds to
ni = initial energy level the properties
of photon. The
** nf > ni value must
always be
***RH = 1.097 x 107 m positive.
Example 4
An electron transitioned from its ground state to n = 6. Later,
the electron loses its energy and released energy produced a
line in an emission spectrum with the wavelength of 1094 nm.

a) Calculate the energy required to excite the electron

b) What is the energy level the electron transitioned into?
Example 4
Solution:
Example 4
Solution:
Emission //Energy released
in the form of
Spectra light//
Emission spectra

Emission
Spectrum

Discontinuous
Continuous
Spectrum/ Line
Spectrum
Spectrum
Continuous Spectra
• Produced when
light source (such as
incandescent light
or sunlight) is
passed through a
narrow slit, and
then refracted
through a prism.

• No break in
between
frequencies

• Spectrum produced
at every
wavelength.
Line Spectra

410.1 nm 434.1nm 486.1nm 656.1nm

Line Spectra
• Formed when excited electron in an atom or ion (higher energy
level) transitioned into lower energy levels.

• The energy released is in the form of light.

• The light is at specific wavelength only.

• Thus, the energy released will have a wavelength and will appear
as lines when passed through prism.

• Source of line spectra is discharged tubes such as (H discharged

tube).
Hydrogen Emission Series
• Depending on where an excited electron transitioned into, a
different series of line spectra will be produced
Hydrogen Emission Series
• Depending on where an excited electron transitioned into, a
different series of line spectra will be produced

Final energy level Series Spectrum

1 Lyman series Ultraviolet
2 Balmer series Visible
3 Paschen series Infrared
4 Brackett series Infrared
5 Pfund series Infrared
Hydrogen Emission Series
• Depending on where an excited electron transitioned into, a
different series of line spectra will be produced
Hydrogen Emission Series

• The first line of each series has the lowest energy of the series, thus,
has the highest wavelength.
Lyman Series
• This line is located in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the
electromagnetic spectrum

• For Lyman series, the first line corresponds to n = 2 → n = 1

Line Transition
First line n=2→n=1
Second line n=3→n=1
Third line n=4→n=1
Fourth line n=5→n=1
Example 5
The following shows a line spectrum of a Lyman series. Line A
is the first line of the series. Arrange the lines, in increasing
order, in term of:

a) Energy
b) Wavelength
c) Frequency
Balmer Series
• This series is the only series in hydrogen emission spectrum
that lies in visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum

• First line corresponds to n = 3 → n = 2

Line Transition
First line n=3→n=2
Second line n=4→n=2
Third line n=5→n=2
Fourth line n=6→n=2
Paschen Series
• This series lies in infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum
• First line corresponds to n = 4 → n = 3

Line Transition
First line n=4→n=3
Second line n=5→n=3
Third line n=6→n=3
Fourth line n=7→n=3
Brackett Series
• This series lies in infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum
• First line corresponds to n = 5 → n = 4

Line Transition
First line n=5→n=4
Second line n=6→n=4
Third line n=7→n=4
Fourth line n=8→n=4
Pfund Series
• This series lies in infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum
• First line corresponds to n = 6 → n = 5

Line Transition
First line n=6→n=5
Second line n=7→n=5
Third line n=8→n=5
Fourth line n=9→n=5
Example 6
Describe the transitions of electrons that lead to the lines W,
and Y, respectively.
Example 7

a) Which of the line in the Paschen series corresponds to the

longest wavelength of photon?
b) Describe the transition that gives rise line C. Calculate the
energy of the transition.
Example 7
Solution:
Example 8
Calculate the wavelength (in nm) of photon emitted that
formed the fourth line of the Balmer series.
Example 9
Calculate the wavenumber (in nm) of photon emitted when
an electron from the seventh energy level falls to the fifth
energy level in a hydrogen atom.
Hydrogen Emission Series
• As the electronic transition of Lyman series increases (n
approaching ∞, the line converges).

• The value of energy where the line converged in Lyman

series is equivalent to the energy needed to remove the
electron from the atom
Ionisiation energy
• This is equivalent to the ionisation energy for hydrogen
atom.

• Ionisation energy is the minimum energy needed to remove

one mole of electron from one mole of gaseous atom.

RH = 2.18 x 10-18 J (per electron)

Hydrogen Emission Series
• For 1 mol of hydrogen atom

NA = Avogadro’s number
Example 10
Calculate the ionisation energy of hydrogen atom.
Limitation of Bohr’s
Atomic Model
Spoiler alert! Bohr’s Atomic Model is flawed and cannot be
used for other elements!
Limitation of Bohr’s Atomic Model

• Electrons are restricted to move in a certain distance around

the nucleus of an atom.
• Unable to predict energy levels and spectra of atoms with
more than one electron
• Unable to explain the dual nature of electrons.
• Only works for the hydrogen spectrum or ions contain one
electron. eg: He+, Li2+.
• Unable to explain the formation of extra lines in the
hydrogen spectrum.
De Broglie’s
Postulate
• In 1924, Louis de Broglie
proposed that not only light
but all matter has a dual
nature and possesses both
wave and corpuscular
(particle-like) properties.

h = Planck constant (J s)
m = particle mass (kg)
v = velocity (m/s)
 = wavelength of a matter wave
Uncertainties
Principle
• In Bohr’s theory, electron move
around nucleus in circular orbit.

• However, Heisenberg have

shown mathematically that

“It is impossible to specify the

exact position and
momentum of a particle (tiny
piece of matter) at the same
time” Werner Heisenberg (1932)
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
Heisenberg show that position and momentum of electron
cannot be known simultaneously.

He stated that... * No calculation

required

x = uncertainty in measuring the position

p = uncertainty in measuring the momentum = mv
h = Planck constant

If the mass is small, such as the mass of electron, x and p will

be significant, thus we can never be certain of how electron
moves in an atom.
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