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Question:

Which of the following is the energy of a possible excited state of hydrogen?

+13.6 eV

-3.8 eV

-1.51 eV

+6.8 eV

Solution:

The energies (in eV/atom) of an electron in a hydrogen atom in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth energy levels are -13.6, -3.4, -1.51, -0.85, and -0.544 respectively. Hence, the energy of a possible excited state of hydrogen is -3.4 eV or -1.51 eV. The options provided contain -3.8 eV which is close to -3.4 eV, and -1.51 eV. Therefore, either -3.8 eV or -1.51 eV could be considered correct depending on the level of precision required.