Hydrogen Energy Levels Lab — Instructor Resources
The NAAP Hydrogen Levels Lab pedagogical objectives are aimed increasing an understanding of the discrete or quantum nature of the energy levels. This module will assist in providing students with a framework for understanding spectral lines and resultant phenomena such as emission nebula. The quantum model is explained and the simulator allows interaction with a Bohr model atom. A temperature dependent histogram of occupation levels is also made available.
For a description of the nature of the instructor materials below, see the Instructor Materials Overview page.
- Student Guide: PDF version, MS Word version
- Assessment Pretest: PDF version, MS Word version
- Assessment Posttest: PDF version, MS Word version
This module has no prerequisites. It should serve as a good introduction to sections about light and atoms which come before stellar content. It is recommended that it function before the Blackbody & UBV Filters lab.
- The “decay time” is a fixed amount. In reality the time is of a probable nature and varies.
- A simplified version of orbital decay is used. Only s-orbitals are considered.
- Electron capture picks up a random level.
- The logarithmic histogram is based off of 1025 atoms. Because of rounding and the logarithmic nature of the quantities, the numbers may not appear to add up. Moreover, the relational height of the histogram bars are non-intuitive because of the logarithmic scale.