Lesson 3.2.2.3

3.2.2.3 Energy levels and photon emission Quiz: AQA Physics, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.2.2.3, Energy levels and photon emission: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Physics (7408), Unit 2: Particles and radiation, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What property of atomic energy levels is directly evidenced by line spectra?

    • Continuous energy bands
    • Discrete energy levels
    • Infinite energy levels
    • Unquantised energies

  2. During electron de-excitation, what determines the energy of the emitted photon?

    • Energy level difference
    • Work function
    • Total atomic mass
    • Ionisation energy

  3. What features appear in a continuous spectrum when light passes through a cool gas?

    • Bright emission lines
    • Dark absorption lines
    • Diffraction fringes
    • Interference maxima

  4. Energy levels in atoms may be quoted in which units in questions?

    • only Hz
    • J or eV
    • only nm
    • only kg m^2 s^-2

  5. Which series of hydrogen emission lines lies in the visible region?

    • Paschen series
    • Balmer series
    • Brackett series
    • Lyman series

  6. Which optical component is used to separate light into sharp spectral lines via diffraction?

    • Polarising filter
    • Convex lens
    • Diffraction grating
    • Plane mirror

  7. A transition releases a photon with energy E1 - E2 = 3.0 eV. What is its frequency?

    • 7.2 × 10^14 Hz
    • 4.8 × 10^14 Hz
    • 1.3 × 10^15 Hz
    • 2.2 × 10^14 Hz

  8. A photon has energy 2.55 eV. What is its wavelength, using hc = 1240 eV nm?

    • 4.86 nm
    • 486 nm
    • 249 nm
    • 2.55 μm

  9. In hydrogen, the n = 2 level is at -3.4 eV and the n = 1 level at -13.6 eV. What is the energy of the photon emitted in the transition from n = 2 to n = 1?

    • 3.4 eV
    • 10.2 eV
    • 17.0 eV
    • 13.6 eV

  10. What is the energy of a 10.2 eV photon in joules?

    • 1.02 × 10^-18 J
    • 1.63 × 10^-18 J
    • 6.38 × 10^-18 J
    • 1.63 × 10^-19 J

  11. In hydrogen, the n = 3 level is at -1.5 eV and the n = 2 level at -3.4 eV. What is the energy of the photon emitted in the transition from n = 3 to n = 2?

    • 4.9 eV
    • 3.4 eV
    • 1.9 eV
    • 1.5 eV

  12. What is the wavelength of the photon from the n = 3 to n = 2 transition in hydrogen, from 1.9 eV?

    • 262 nm
    • 412 nm
    • 656 nm
    • 1240 nm

  13. The energy difference between two levels is 4.0 × 10^-19 J. What is the frequency of the emitted photon?

    • 1.7 × 10^15 Hz
    • 2.7 × 10^14 Hz
    • 6.0 × 10^-15 Hz
    • 6.0 × 10^14 Hz

  14. Hydrogen levels are E1 = -2.18 × 10^-18 J and E2 = -5.45 × 10^-19 J. What is the energy of the photon emitted in the transition from E2 to E1?

    • 1.6 × 10^-18 J
    • 2.2 × 10^-18 J
    • 1.6 × 10^-19 J
    • 2.7 × 10^-18 J

  15. Which photon energy can be absorbed by a ground-state hydrogen atom to excite it to n = 2?

    • 13.6 eV
    • 3.4 eV
    • 10.2 eV
    • 5.0 eV

  16. How many different photon energies can be emitted by an electron falling from n = 3 to n = 1 by any route?

    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 4

  17. Why does a hot gas produce an emission spectrum with specific discrete wavelengths?

    • Refraction inside gas
    • Continuous thermal radiation
    • Fixed energy differences
    • Nuclear decay process

  18. What is the frequency of a photon of energy 1.0 eV?

    • 6.6 × 10^14 Hz
    • 2.4 × 10^14 Hz
    • 1.6 × 10^14 Hz
    • 2.4 × 10^15 Hz

  19. Which transition in hydrogen emits the photon of highest energy, given levels at -1.5, -3.4 and -13.6 eV?

    • n = 1 to n = 3
    • n = 3 to n = 2
    • n = 3 to n = 1
    • n = 2 to n = 1

  20. A 2.55 eV photon comes from which transition, given levels at -0.85 eV (n = 4) and -3.4 eV (n = 2)?

    • n = 4 to n = 2
    • n = 2 to n = 1
    • n = 3 to n = 2
    • n = 4 to n = 3

All AQA Physics quizzes