Chapter 11: Introduction to Modern Atomic Theory

We see an electron 'orbiting' the nucleus at a specific radius.

In the Quantum Mechanical model we view the behavior of the electron in a completely different way...the electron occupies an orbital.

But in the Bohr model we describe the electron in an orbit.

To get the electron to move from the orbit closest to the nucleus to a 'higher' orbit, we must add energy. The electron must absorb some energy to 'excite' the electron to a higher orbit.

Each of the orbits is also called an energy level, because the electron has a certain energy when it is in an orbit. The orbit closest to the nucleus is the lowest energy level, and the electron has the smallest amount of energy.

To excite the electron to a higher orbit we must add the exact amount of energy, the differnece between the energies of the two levels, to cause the electron to move to the higher energy level.

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