Electromagnetic Radiation

Abstract

Purpose:
Light is the visible part of a vast spectrum of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), which is composed of perpendicular electrical and magnetic fields. The characteristics of EMR indicate that light behaves as both a wave and a particle. Visible light and other forms of EMR are essential to our understanding of chemical behavior and structure.

Content Learning Objectives:
• Describe light as a wave and express the relationships between wavelength, frequency, and the speed of light.
• Describe light as a particle of energy (photon) relating frequency and wavelength to energy.
• Use energy level transition diagrams to correlate absorption and emission of light to the quantized energy levels within an atom.

Process Skill Goal:
• Students will develop their problem solving skills by describing the relationships between properties of light and utilizing those relationships to understand atomic spectra.

Level: High School, Undergraduate
Setting: Classroom 
Activity Type: Learning Cycle
Discipline: Chemistry
Course: Introductory Chemistry
Keywords: electromagnetic radiation, wave properties, photon, absorption, emission, energy transitions