Why are some lines in the spectrum emitted at a higher frequency than others?

Each frequency of light is associated with a particular energy by the equation: The higher the frequency, the higher the energy of the light. If an electron falls from the 3-level to the 2-level, red light is seen. The greatest possible fall in energy will therefore produce the highest frequency line in the spectrum.

Why is the bright line spectrum of hydrogen composed of discrete lines and is not a continuous spectrum?

Atoms of individual elements emit light at only specific wavelengths, producing a line spectrum rather than the continuous spectrum of all wavelengths produced by a hot object. Transitions from an excited state to a lower-energy state resulted in the emission of light with only a limited number of wavelengths.

Why does the hydrogen spectrum contain many lines even though the hydrogen atom has only a single electron?

Though a hydrogen atom has only one electron, it contains a large number of shells, so when this single electron jumps from one shell to another, a photon is emitted, and the energy difference of the shells causes different wavelengths to be released… hence, mono-electronic hydrogen has many spectral lines.

What is a bright light emission spectrum?

…a pattern is called an emission, or bright-line, spectrum. When light passes through a gas or cloud at a lower temperature than the light source, the gas absorbs at its identifying wavelengths, and a dark-line, or absorption, spectrum will be formed.

What produces an emission line spectrum?

An emission line will appear in a spectrum if the source emits specific wavelengths of radiation. This emission occurs when an atom, element or molecule in an excited state returns to a configuration of lower energy. The spectrum of a material in an excited state shows emission lines at discrete frequencies.

Why is the emission spectrum of each element unique?

Each elements emission spectrum is distinct because each element has a different set of electron energy levels. The emission lines correspond to the differences between various pairs of the many energy levels. The lines (photons) are emitted as electrons fall from higher energy orbitals to lower energies.