Verified Solution • 2025–26 Session moderate

QPages 384-386: Q19: HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2 Bohr's Model and Physics of the Atom Pages 384-386: Q19 Solution: A spectroscopic instrument can resolve two nearby wavelengths…

⚠️ Common Exam Traps & Conceptual Pitfalls

Students often invert the inequality or use the wrong Δλ. The resolving power is defined as λ/Δλ, so the instrument can distinguish two lines only when Δλ > λ/8000. Compute Δλ between consecutive Balmer lines using the Rydberg formula; only the first few lines satisfy this condition, yielding about eight resolved lines.

A spectroscopic instrument can resolve two nearby wavelengths λ\lambda and λ+Δλ\lambda + \Delta\lambda if λ/Δλ\lambda/\Delta\lambda is smaller than 8000. This is used to study the spectral lines of the Balmer series of hydrogen. Approximately how many lines will be resolved by the instrument?

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** Approximately 8 lines will be resolved. **Step-by-Step Explanation:** The Balmer series lines converge as n increases. The instrument can resolve _/__ = 8000. For Balmer series, the wavelength of the nth line (n _ 2) is __n = 364.6/(1 _ 4/n_) nm. The separation between consecutive lines decreases. The number of lines that can be resolved is approximately 8 [citation:3].

All Questions in this Chapter

QPage 383: Q1 QPage 383: Q2 QPage 383: Q3 QPage 383: Q4 QPage 383: Q5 QPage 383: Q6 QPage 383: Q7 QPage 383: Q8 QPage 383: Q9 QPage 383: Q10 QPage 383: Q11 QPage 383: Q12 QPage 383: Q13 QPages 382-383: Q1 QPages 382-383: Q2 QPages 382-383: Q3 QPages 382-383: Q4 QPages 382-383: Q5 QPages 382-383: Q6 QPages 382-383: Q7 QPages 382-383: Q8 QPages 382-383: Q9 QPages 382-383: Q10 QPages 383-384: Q1 QPages 383-384: Q2 QPages 383-384: Q3 QPages 383-384: Q4 QPages 383-384: Q5 QPages 383-384: Q6 QPages 384-386: Q1 QPages 384-386: Q2 QPages 384-386: Q3 QPages 384-386: Q4 QPages 384-386: Q5 QPages 384-386: Q6 QPages 384-386: Q7 QPages 384-386: Q8 QPages 384-386: Q9 QPages 384-386: Q10 QPages 384-386: Q11 QPages 384-386: Q12 QPages 384-386: Q13 QPages 384-386: Q14 QPages 384-386: Q15 QPages 384-386: Q16 QPages 384-386: Q17 QPages 384-386: Q18 QPages 384-386: Q19 QPages 384-386: Q20 QPages 384-386: Q21 QPages 384-386: Q22 QPages 384-386: Q23 QPages 384-386: Q24 QPages 384-386: Q25 QPages 384-386: Q26 QPages 384-386: Q27 QPages 384-386: Q28 QPages 384-386: Q29 QPages 384-386: Q30 QPages 384-386: Q31 QPages 384-386: Q32 QPages 384-386: Q33 QPages 384-386: Q34 QPages 384-386: Q35 QPages 384-386: Q36 QPages 384-386: Q37 QPages 384-386: Q38 QPages 384-386: Q39 QPages 384-386: Q40 QPages 384-386: Q41 QPages 384-386: Q42 QPages 384-386: Q43 QPages 384-386: Q44 QPages 384-386: Q45 QPages 384-386: Q46

Related Learning Resources & Exam Preparation

Chapter Practice Bank
Practice all topic-wise questions from Bohr's Model and Physics of the Atom
Reference Textbook Solutions
Explore complete chapter exercises for HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2
Competitive PYQ Question Bank
Browse year-wise authentic previous years' questions with solutions
Authentic CBT Mock Tests
Simulate official exam environment with live timer and percentile scoring