Skip to main content
Ch.2 - Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

Chapter 2, Problem 16a

An unknown particle is caused to move between two electrically charged plates, as illustrated in Figure 2.7. You hypothesize that the particle is a proton. (a) If your hypothesis is correct, would the particle be deflected in the same or opposite direction as the b rays?

Verified Solution
Video duration:
1m
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
820
views
Was this helpful?

Video transcript

Hello everyone today. We are being given the following diagram that shows the setup for the Stern Gerlach experiment. And so in this experiment, adam's are passed through this magnetic field and they're deflected based on their electronic spins for their electron spins. In an experiment, a beam of lithium atoms was passed through a magnetic field and the beam split into two. What would happen if the same experiment is repeated using beryllium atoms, explain our answer. So the first thing I wanna make note of is the electron configuration of beryllium. So according to the periodic table, the electron configuration of beryllium is going to consist of the S. Block, the one S. Block and the two S. Block. And so the one S block is going to have two electrons, one going up, one going down and two S. Is also going to have a paired electrons group there. And so it just so happens that this Stern Gerlach experiment splits atoms into two when they have unpaid electrons. So it's split into two when UNP aired electrons are present. And so with that logic, we can conclude that since there are no unpaid electrons in the beryllium atom, this experiment will not split the beryllium adam. And so that is our final answer. I hope this helped until next time