Question

What is the maximum number of emission lines when the excited electron of a H atom in n = 6 drops to the ground state?

Answer 1

When the excited electron of an H atom in n= 6 drops to the ground state, the following transitions are possible:

Hence, a total number of (5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1) 15 lines will be obtained in the emission spectrum.
The number of spectral lines produced when an electron in the nth level drops down to the ground state is given by $\frac {n(n - 1)}{2}$.
Given, n= 6
Number of spectral lines = $\frac {6(6-1)}{2}$ = 15