Emission Spectrum

Claim, Evidence, Reasoning

In the Bohr model of an atom, negatively charged electrons are located in specific orbits around a positively charged nucleus. If an electron gains a specific amount of energy, it can jump to a higher-energy orbit. An electron can subsequently lose a specific amount of energy and fall to a lower-energy orbit. Electrons falling to lower-energy orbits emit light of specific wavelengths, which generates each element’s unique emission spectrum. An emission spectrum is the light of specific wavelengths that an element emits when electrons in the atoms go from higher-energy orbits to lower-energy ones.