Lesson 5.6.3

5.6.3 Atomic line spectra and photon absorption and emission Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Physics, Unit 5

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 5.6.3, Atomic line spectra and photon absorption and emission: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Physics (9PH0), Unit 5: Waves and Particle Nature of Light, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Why does a gas discharge lamp produce a line spectrum?

    • The gas absorbs all wavelengths except those of the lamp
    • Its atoms are too hot to emit a continuous spectrum
    • Its electrons are free and can emit any energy
    • Its atoms emit photons only at fixed energies, from transitions between discrete energy levels

  2. What happens when an electron in an atom falls from a higher energy level to a lower one?

    • It is ejected from the atom as a photoelectron
    • It gains energy from a neighbouring atom
    • It absorbs a photon of energy equal to the difference
    • It emits a photon whose energy equals the difference between the two levels

  3. When does an atom absorb a photon?

    • When the photon energy can take any value
    • When the photon energy is less than the lowest level
    • When the photon energy equals the difference between two of its energy levels
    • When the photon energy is zero

  4. What is the ground state of an atom?

    • The level from which the electron has been ionised
    • The highest energy level that the electron can occupy
    • The energy level at zero energy in every atom
    • The lowest energy level, in which the electron is most tightly bound

  5. Which equation gives the frequency of a photon emitted in a transition with energy change delta E?

    • f = h/delta E
    • f = delta E/h
    • f = delta E/(2h)
    • f = delta E x h

  6. What is the ionisation energy of an atom?

    • The energy of the highest level in the atom
    • The energy of the work function of the metal surface
    • The energy needed to excite an electron to the next level
    • The minimum energy needed to remove an electron from its ground state

  7. A transition in hydrogen goes from n = 2 to n = 1, with energy levels -3.4 eV and -13.6 eV. What is the frequency of the photon emitted? Take 1 eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 J and h = 6.63 x 10^-34 J s.

    • 1.6 x 10^15 Hz
    • 2.5 x 10^15 Hz
    • 4.1 x 10^15 Hz
    • 6.2 x 10^14 Hz

  8. A transition releases a photon with energy 10.2 eV. What is the wavelength of this photon? Use hc = 1240 eV nm.

    • 1216 nm
    • 410 nm
    • 12.2 nm
    • 122 nm

  9. An electron transition releases a photon with energy 1.9 eV. What is the approximate wavelength of this photon? Use hc = 1240 eV nm.

    • About 650 nm
    • About 2.5 micrometres
    • About 130 nm
    • About 340 nm

  10. An atom has ground state energy -13.6 eV and first excited level -3.4 eV. Which photon energy can be absorbed by an atom in the ground state?

    • 5.0 eV
    • 3.0 eV
    • 8.0 eV
    • 10.2 eV

  11. An electron in a level with energy -3.4 eV absorbs a photon of energy 4.0 eV, with ground state -13.6 eV. What happens?

    • The electron moves to a level at -1.5 eV
    • The electron drops to the ground state and emits energy
    • The photon is not absorbed
    • The atom is ionised, and the electron leaves with 0.6 eV of kinetic energy

  12. A photon of frequency 4.6 x 10^14 Hz is absorbed in a transition. What is the energy of the transition? Take h = 6.63 x 10^-34 J s and 1 eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 J.

    • 0.29 eV
    • 3.0 eV
    • 1.9 eV
    • 7.3 eV

  13. An atom has three energy levels. How many different transitions can an electron make that emit a photon, if it may drop from any higher level to any lower level?

    • 2
    • 6
    • 4
    • 3

  14. An atom has levels at -13.6 eV, -3.4 eV and -1.5 eV. Which transition emits the photon of highest frequency?

    • From -1.5 eV down to -3.4 eV
    • The transitions from -1.5 eV to -3.4 eV and from -3.4 eV to -13.6 eV are equal
    • From -3.4 eV down to -13.6 eV
    • From -1.5 eV down to -13.6 eV

  15. What is an energy of 12.1 eV in joules? Take 1 eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 J.

    • 7.6 x 10^-20 J
    • 1.9 x 10^-18 J
    • 1.2 x 10^-17 J
    • 1.9 x 10^-19 J

  16. A student says that a line spectrum shows that electrons in an atom can have any energy. Which evaluation is correct?

    • Correct, because a line spectrum shows a continuous range of energies
    • Incorrect, because line spectra show discrete energy levels, so only certain transition energies appear
    • Correct, because each line corresponds to a continuous band of energies
    • Incorrect, because line spectra carry no information about energy

  17. Why does a hydrogen atom emit only certain photon energies rather than a continuous range?

    • Electrons lose energy continuously but in fixed steps of wavelength
    • Photons are emitted only at integer multiples of the frequency of visible light
    • Electron energy levels in an atom are quantised, so transitions occur only between fixed levels
    • Hydrogen atoms emit only in the visible region of the spectrum

  18. An electron drops from the level at -1.5 eV to the level at -13.6 eV. The atom is hydrogen-like with these levels. What is the wavelength of the emitted photon? Use hc = 1240 eV nm.

    • About 103 nm
    • About 122 nm
    • About 1.0 micrometres
    • About 656 nm

  19. Why does an atom absorb only some photons from a continuous white-light source?

    • Atoms absorb only photons whose energy is exactly zero
    • Atoms absorb every photon energy equally, but emit only at matched energies
    • Only photons whose energy matches a permitted transition can be absorbed; the others pass through unchanged
    • Absorbed photons always have energy above the ionisation energy

  20. A metal with work function 4.0 eV is illuminated by a photon emitted in the transition from -3.4 eV to -13.6 eV. What is the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectron?

    • 4.0 eV
    • 6.2 eV
    • 10.2 eV
    • 14.2 eV

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