Lyman and Balmer Series Wavelengths – Rankers Physics
Topic: Modern Physics
Subtopic: Atomic Structure

Lyman and Balmer Series Wavelengths

Assertion (A): Wavelength of Lyman series is less than of Balmer series.
Reason (R): In hydrogen spectrum Balmer series belongs to visible spectrum.
 
Both (A) & (R) are true and the (R) is the correct explanation of the (A)
Both (A) & (R) are true but the (R) is not the correct explanation of the (A)
(A) is true but (R) is false
Both (A) and (R) are false

Solution:

Assertion (A) is true: Lyman series transitions end at \(n=1\) (higher energy, shorter \(lambda\)) while Balmer end at \(n=2\) (lower energy, longer \(\lambda\)).

Reason (R) is true: Balmer lines like \(H_\alpha\) and \(H_\beta\) are in the visible spectrum. However, (R) does not explain why Lyman has shorter wavelengths than Balmer, so it's not the correct explanation.

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