Light & Spectroscopy- p. 2
ACTIVITIES on Atomic Structure
*Atomic Structure Review - handouts, online information*
If you need a review of atomic structure and the periodic table (especially if you have not taken a chemistry course), do the following worksheets and/or read information from the following links.
In class handouts
1. Structure of the Atom
2. Elements and the Periodic Table
3. Valency
Online Sources
ACTIVITIES on the Wave/Particle Duality of Light
Write a short essay explaining what the photoelectric effect is and how it shows that light must have a particle nature in addition to having wavelike properties. You can play with the photoelectric effect in the applet below.
*EM Spectrum: A Calculation Investigation Student Worksheet - online or handout*
Max Planck, a German physicist, found that certain behaviors of light could be predicted by considering it as though it were emitted in little bursts of energy rather than continuously. He developed a relationship in 1900 that gives the relationship between the energy and frequency of a photon (a quantum or packet of energy). In this worksheet, you will practice calculating energies, frequencies and wavelengths.
*Spectral Lines and the Bohr Atom - online worksheet and java applets*
What is it about the structure of an atom that gives it its characteristic line spectrum "fingerprint"? Later we will find out how scientist can use this to analyze the stars.
*Computational Chem Lab: The Bohr Atom - adv. online activity*
Involves designing a spreadsheet for the Bohr model of hydrogen.
*Deriving DeBroglie's Equation - online reading and handout*
Read the information included on this page. DeBroglie postulated that any moving particle (not just photons) had a wave/particle duality. Play with the java applet on this page, changing the radius of the electron's orbit, as well as the wavelength of the wave. Write a summary of your findings. How does treating an electron as a wave explain its only being found at certain energy levels or in orbits of certain sizes? Do the classroom handout called "Deriving DeBroglie's Equation".
*Atomic Spectra - handout*
This worksheet summarizes the information on Bohr and DeBroglie above.
ACTIVITIES on Spectroscopy
*Spectroscopy and Types of Spectra - online or research activity*
Read the information contained in the links below or use a physics or chemistry text. Write a paragraph describing what spectroscopy is and what it can tell you about a star. Explain the differences between each of the spectra in the picture to the left and how each is produced.
*Analytical Spectroscope - available online or in classroom*
Build an analytical spectrscope to use in upcoming activities. Do pages 34-39 from the guide Space Based Astronomy which is available in the classroom or as a download.
*The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum - available online or in classroom*
Print or obtain a copy of the student and instructor handouts.. Use the instructor's guide to find out how to produce continuous, bright line and absorption spectra (choose a few methods of producing each type). Record how each was produced and sketch the results of each in a data table. Answer all questions on the student's guide.
*Supernova Chemistry - handout available online or in classroom*
Activity on analyzing various spectra including background information necessary for supernova analysis in the unit on Stars and Stellar Evolution.
Identify burning elements by the colors of their flames and their spectral lines. "Flaming Out" in Hewitt's Conceptual Physics Laboratory Manual may be used in place of this activity.
*Spectral Lines - handout*
Determine the composition of stars by analyzing emission spectra.
More on stars and spectroscopy can be found in the unit "Stars & Stellar Evolution".