EASTERN SAMAR NATIONAL CHEMISTRY 1

COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL MODULE 5

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, PLANCK’S QUANTUM THEORY, AND PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

I. DEFINITIONS
a. particle – an object which has distinct chemical or physical properties such as volume or mass.
b. wave – a disturbance that travels from one location to another.
i. crest – highest peak of a wave
ii. trough lowest point of a wave
c. wavelength – (symbolized by the Greek letter lambda, λ) is the distance from crest to crest or from trough to
trough
d. amplitude – defined as one-half the distance from crest to trough
e. frequency – (symbolized by the Greek letter nu, ν) is defined as the number of waves passing a fixed point in a
specified period of time.
i. has units of waves per second or cycles per second
ii. unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz); 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 cycle per second.
f. period – the time for a particle on a medium to make one complete vibrational cycle

λν = μ, wave equation
λ = wavelength
ν = frequency
μ = speed of a wave

a. Classification of a wave:
 Mechanical wave – oftentimes identified as longitudinal waves; requires medium for travel, i.e.
sound waves, water waves, etc.
 Electromagnetic wave – wave capable of transmitting its energy through an empty space or
vacuum (no medium)
 Light is an electromagnetic waves, from the equation above, μ = c, c = 3.00 x 108 m/s

II. PLANCK’S QUANTUM THEORY

When objects are heated, electrons on the surface are thermally agitated and begin to emit radiation.
a. blackbody – materials that absorbs all radiation that falls on it; when a blackbody is heated, it was expected
to emit at every wavelength of light that it is able to absorb.
Planck proposed that atoms on the surface of a blackbody, when heated, absorb energy only in discrete quantities or
quanta. The energy released or absorbed by any oscillator are in integer multiples, or quanta, of hv. This became known
as Planck’s equation.
E = hν
E = energy
ν = frequency
h = Planck’s constant; with value of 6.626 x 10 -34 Js

III. EMISSION SPECTRUM and BOHR THEORY OF THE HYDROGEN ATOM

In 1913, Neils Bohr proposed a model, now unused, that could explain the phenomenon of emission spectra using the
hydrogen atom. His postulates are:
i. Electrons go around the nucleus in circular orbits [these are now called orbitals and spherical in form].
However, not all circular orbits are allowed. The electron is allowed to occupy only specific energies.
Therefore, the energies of the electron are quantized.
Module 5 for Chemistry 1 Rassel C. Santos – Chem1 Teacher
 EASTERN SAMAR NATIONAL CHEMISTRY 1
COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL MODULE 5

ii. If the electron stays in the allowed orbit, its energy is stable. It will not emit radiation and it will not
spiral into the nucleus.
iii. If an electron jumps from one orbit to another, it will absorb or emit energy in quanta equal to ΔE = hν.
According to Bohr, the energy of the electron in the H atom is given by:
1
E H =−R H
( )
n2
The negative sign is an arbitrary convention. A free electron is arbitrarily considered to have an energy of zero. A
negative energy means that the energy of the electron is lower than the energy of a free electron.

Rh is the Rydberg constant. For hydrogen is equal to 2.18 x 10-18 J. The number n is an integer equal to n = 1, 2, 3, …

E1 is the lowest energy and therefore, the most stable state. It is called the ground state or the ground level. E2, E3, etc.
have higher energies and are less stable than E1. They are called excited state or excited levels1.

The Bohr model can explain the experimental emission spectrum of hydrogen which includes a wide range of
wavelength from the infrared to the UV region.

III. LIMITATIONS OF THE BOHR MODEL OF THE ATOM

The following are the several limitations of the Bohr model:
a. It cannot explain the spectrum of atoms with more than one electron.
b. It cannot explain the relative intensities of spectral lines 2.
c. It cannot explain why some lines are slit into several components in the presence of a magnetic field 3.
d. According to Bohr model, when electrons go around the nucleus in certain orbits, its energy remains constant.
But moving electrons would lose energy by emitting electromagnetic waves and the electron is expected to
spiral into the nucleus.

1
Note also that as the electron gets closer to the nucleus, it becomes more stable.
2
This is the reason why are some lines more intense than others.
3
Zeeman Effect
Module 5 for Chemistry 1 Rassel C. Santos – Chem1 Teacher
 EASTERN SAMAR NATIONAL CHEMISTRY 1
COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL MODULE 5

e. It violates the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle 4. The Bohr model considers electrons to have a known radius
and orbit which is impossible according to Heisenberg.

IV. THE DUAL NATURE OF ELECTRON: DE BROGLIE’S EQUATION

Louis De Broglie made a proposition based on Planck’s and Einstein’s concepts that if light could have particle-like
properties, then particles like electrons could also have wavelike properties. This is given by the De Broglie equation:
h
λ=
mu
Where,
h = Planck’s constant
m = mass of the particle
u = velocity

The Heisenberg equation is represented mathematically as:

h
∆ x ∆ p≥
4π
Where,
∆ x = uncertainty in position
∆ p = uncertainty in momentum
h = Planck’s constant

Schrodinger’s equation came about with the idea of Schrodinger’s cat 5. The Schrodinger equation incorporates particle
behavior and wave behavior, treating the electron as a standing wave. The solution to the Schrodinger equation is a
wave function called  (psi). the wave functions are also called atomic orbitals.
−h 2 ∂2 ∂2 ∂2 Z2
( + +
8 π 2 m ∂ x 2 ∂ y 2 ∂ z2
−
r) =E

4
Formulated by Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist, stating that, “the position of a particle and its momentum cannot be
simultaneously measured with arbitrarily high precision”. In other words, it is not possible to measure the exact position and the
exact momentum of a particle at the same time.
5
Schrodinger’s cat is a philosophical thought that shows a cat in an enclosed box with a bottle of poison that triggers in a certain
period. Without opening the box, there will be certain uncertainties to what is the condition of the cat inside the box unless you
open that box and confirm your theory. This is similar to particles.
Module 5 for Chemistry 1 Rassel C. Santos – Chem1 Teacher