Chapter 2

The Quantum-Mechanical Model

of the Atom

Electromagnetic Radiation – The Nature of Light (2.1-2.2)

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 Today’s Learning Objectives
• Explain the basic behavior and characteristics of waves
• Describe the wave nature and the particle nature of light
• Calculate light-wave properties such as frequency, wavelength, and energy
• Describe the types of waves that make up the electromagnetic spectrum

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 Quantum Mechanics and Light
• Quantum mechanics forms the foundation of chemistry – how we can
explain the periodic table and how elements bond to form new
compounds.

• Understanding the properties of light is important for studying

chemistry!
– Light can help us infer energies of electrons in atoms/molecules
– Many technologies are based on radiation (solar panels, radio waves for
phones, X-rays for medical applications, microwaves for cooking, etc)
– Light and electrons have a lot in common!

• “Wave-particle duality” = light behaves as both a wave and a particle!

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 The Nature of Light: Its Wave Nature
• Light is electromagnetic radiation, a wave made of oscillating, perpendicular
electric and magnetic fields traveling through space.
• A wave is a oscillation (periodic movement) that transports energy through space.

• Speed of light in a vacuum (c) = 3.00 × 108 m/s (fast enough to travel
around the Earth in 1/7 of a second!) 4
 Characteristics of Waves

Amplitude: Wavelength (λ or lambda):

• The height of the wave • Distance covered by the wave
• Measure of light intensity • Determines the color of light

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 Frequency and Wavelength
Frequency (𝜈 or nu):
• The number of waves that pass a point in a
given period of time
• Number of waves = the number of cycles.
• Units: hertz (Hz) or cycles/s = s−1 (1 Hz = 1 s−1).

Wavelength and frequency are inversely

proportional!

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 Frequency and Wavelength
Calculate the wavelength (in nm) of the red light emitted by a barcode scanner that has
a frequency of 4.62 × 1014 s−1.

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 Energy of a Photon: Its Particle Nature
• Einstein proposed that the light energy was delivered to the atoms in packets
called quanta or photons.
• The energy (E) of a photon can be determined from either frequency or
wavelength:
𝑬 = 𝒉𝝂

𝒉𝒄
𝑬=
𝝀
Planck’s Constant, (h) = 6.626 × 10−34 J∙s
Speed of light (c) = 3.00 × 108 m/s

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 Energy of a Photon
We previously calculated the wavelength (in nm) of the red light emitted by a barcode
scanner that has a frequency of 4.62 × 1014 s−1. What is the energy of a photon of this
red light in joules (J)?

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 Energy
The energy required to dislodge an electron from sodium metal is 275 kJ/mol. What
wavelength of light (in nm) has sufficient energy per photon to dislodge an electron
from a sodium atom on the surface?

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 Color
• The color of visible light is determined by its wavelength.

• White light is a mixture of all the colors of visible light.

– Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

• When an object absorbs some of the wavelengths of white light and reflects others,
it appears colored; the observed color is predominantly the colors reflected.

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Electromagnetic Spectrum

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 Colors of Visible Light
Arrange these three colors of visible light – green, red, blue – in order
of increasing:

• wavelength

• frequency

• energy per photon

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