---
title: "An isolated hydrogen atom emits a photon when an electron transitions from an initial energy state with principal quantum number \\(n\\) to the ground state (\\(n=1\\)). The graph shows the energy of the emitted photon, \\(E_{\\text{photon}}\\), as a function of the initial quantum number \\(n\\).  Which of the following statements correctly interprets a feature of the graph in terms of physical quantities?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123510/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T11:59:59+00:00"
---

# An isolated hydrogen atom emits a photon when an electron transitions from an initial energy state with principal quantum number \(n\) to the ground state (\(n=1\)). The graph shows the energy of the emitted photon, \(E_{\text{photon}}\), as a function of the initial quantum number \(n\).

Which of the following statements correctly interprets a feature of the graph in terms of physical quantities?

An isolated hydrogen atom emits a photon when an electron transitions from an initial energy state with principal quantum number \(n\) to the ground state (\(n=1\)). The graph shows the energy of the emitted photon, \(E_{\text{photon}}\), as a function of the initial quantum number \(n\).

Which of the following statements correctly interprets a feature of the graph in terms of physical quantities?

![A Cartesian graph with a horizontal axis labeled Initial Quantum Level, n, and a vertical axis labeled Emitted Photon Energy, E (in eV). The horizontal axis has tick marks at integer values 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The vertical axis has tick marks labeled 0, 5, 10, and 15. A horizontal dashed line extends across the plot at E = 13.6, labeled 13.6. Six plotted points appear as solid circular dots at coordinates: (2, 10.2), (3, 12.1), (4, 12.8), (5, 13.1), (6, 13.2), and (7, 13.3). A smooth dashed curve passes through these points, rising from n = 2 and approaching the horizontal dashed line at 13.6 from below as n increases. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1790596799-BDxGfQ.jpg)

- **A.** The horizontal asymptote at \(13.6\text{ eV}\) represents the series limit, which corresponds to the maximum frequency of photons emitted in transitions to the ground state.
- **B.** The horizontal asymptote at \(13.6\text{ eV}\) represents the series limit, which corresponds to the longest wavelength of photons emitted in transitions to the ground state.
- **C.** The decreasing vertical spacing between consecutive points as \(n\) increases indicates that the energy of an electron bound in level \(n\) is directly proportional to \(n\).
- **D.** The plotted value at \(n = 2\) represents the ionization energy required to completely remove an electron from the ground state.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123510/*