These transitions are part of the Lyman seriesSolution Use R

These transitions are part of the Lyman series.

Solution

Use Rydberg\'s Equation to solve for this problem, which is as follows:

1/wavelength = R((1/n²_x )-(1/n_y² ))

Where R is Rydberg\'s constant, 1.0974 * 10⁷ m^-1

=
wavelength = 1/(.82305* 10^⁷ m^-1)

=
Wavelength = 1.214 * 10^-7 m

And, since wavelength is typically given in nanometers (1 nm = 1 * 10^-9 m) when looking at hydrogren emission spectra, convert the 10^-7to 10^-9 by moving the decimal back two more places.

So,

The wavelength expected for light composed of photons produced by an n=3 to n=1 transition in a hydrogen atom is:

121.4nm

or, to three significant figures,

121 nm