Chemistry · Bohr model of a hydrogen atom: its postulates, derivation of the relations for the energy of the electron and radii of the different orbits, limitations of Bohr's model

The energy of an electron in the ground state of atom is The negative sign indic

The energy of an electron in the ground state of \( \boldsymbol{H} \) atom is \( -\mathbf{1 3 . 6 e V} \) The negative sign indicates that:

  • A. electrons are negatively charged
  • B. \( H \) atom is more stable than a free electron
  • C. energy of the electron in the H atom is lower than that of a free electron
  • D. work must be done to make a \( H \) atom from a free electron and proton

Step-by-step solution

By convention, the energy of a free electron at infinite distance from the nucleus is set to zero. The negative energy (-13.6 eV) for the ground-state electron in the hydrogen atom indicates that the electron is bound and its energy is lower than that of a free electron, meaning it is in a more stable state. The negative sign directly reflects this lower energy relative to the free electron reference.
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