Question

When an electron jumps from an excited state to ground state it __________

(a) Emits a photon having energy 13.6 eV

(b) Absorbs a photon having energy 13.6 eV

(c) Emits a photon having energy the same as the energy difference between the two states

(d) Absorbs a photon having energy the same as the energy difference between the two states

I have been asked this question in an interview for internship.

The query is from Mechanism of Light Emission in portion Optics of Engineering Physics II

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) Emits a photon having energy the same as the energy difference between the two states

The best explanation: Electron in the ground state is extremely stable. Hence, when an electron is in an excited state it tends to come back to its ground state. In this process, a photon is emitted. The Emitted photon has energy equal to the energy difference between the two energy states.