Skip to main content
Ch.6 - Electronic Structure of Atoms
Chapter 6, Problem 82b

If a sample of calcium chloride is introduced into a nonluminous flame, the color of the flame turns to orange ('flame test'). The light is emitted because calcium atoms become excited; their return to the ground state results in light emission. (b) What is the energy of 1.00 mol of these photons (a mole of photons is called an Einstein)?

Verified Solution

Video duration:
2m
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Flame Test

The flame test is a qualitative analysis technique used to identify the presence of certain metal ions based on the color of the flame produced when the sample is heated. Different elements emit characteristic colors when their electrons are excited by heat and then return to their ground state, releasing energy in the form of light. For example, calcium produces an orange flame, which is indicative of its presence.
Recommended video:
Guided course
14:42
Test for Anions

Photon Energy

Photon energy is the energy carried by a single photon, which can be calculated using the equation E = hν, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s), and ν (nu) is the frequency of the light. The energy of photons is directly proportional to their frequency and inversely proportional to their wavelength, meaning higher frequency light (like blue) has more energy than lower frequency light (like red).
Recommended video:
Guided course
01:40
Photon Energy Formulas

Mole and Avogadro's Number

A mole is a unit in chemistry that represents 6.022 x 10^23 entities, known as Avogadro's number. This concept allows chemists to count particles, such as atoms or molecules, in a given sample by relating macroscopic quantities to the number of particles. When calculating the energy of 1.00 mol of photons, one would multiply the energy of a single photon by Avogadro's number to find the total energy for the mole of photons.
Recommended video:
Guided course
02:41
Moles and Particles Conversion
Related Practice
Textbook Question

(a) What does the term paramagnetism mean? (b) How can one determine experimentally whether a substance is paramagnetic? (c) Which of the following ions would you expect to be paramagnetic: O2+ , N22 -, Li2+ , O22 - ? For those ions that are paramagnetic, determine the number of unpaired electrons.

679
views
Textbook Question

The following do not represent valid ground-state electron configurations for an atom either because they violate the Pauli exclusion principle or because orbitals are not filled in order of increasing energy. Indicate which of these two principles is violated in each example. (b) 3Xe46s3

809
views
Textbook Question

The following electron configurations represent excited states. Identify the element and write its ground-state condensed electron configuration. (b) 3Ne43s13p44p1.

927
views
Textbook Question

Certain elements emit light of a specific wavelength when they are burned or heated in a non-luminous flame. Historically, chemists used such emission wavelengths to determine whether specific elements were present in a sample. Some characteristic wavelengths for a few of the elements are given in the following table: Ag 328.1 nm Fe 372.0 nm Au 267.6 nm K 404.7 nm Ba 455.4 nm Mg 285.2 nm Ca 422.7 nm Na 589.6 nm Cu 324.8 nm Ni 341.5 nm (c) When burned, a sample of an unknown substance is found to emit light of frequency 6.58 * 1014 s-1. Which of these elements is probably in the sample?

1063
views
Textbook Question

In January 2006, the New Horizons space probe was launched from Earth with the mission to perform a flyby study of Pluto. The arrival at the dwarf planet was estimated to happen after nine years, in 2015. The distance between Earth and Pluto varies depending on the location of the planets in their orbits, but at their closest, the distance is 4.2 billion kilometers (2.6 billion miles). Calculate the minimum amount of time it takes for a transmitted signal from Pluto to reach the Earth.

600
views
Textbook Question

The watt is the derived SI unit of power, the measure of energy per unit time: 1 W = 1 J>s. A semiconductor laser in a DVD player has an output wavelength of 650 nm and a power level of 5.0 mW. How many photons strike the DVD surface during the playing of a DVD 90 minutes in length?

2645
views