Lesson Plan: Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
Chemistry
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of
the lesson teaching students how to explain the emission of fixed colors of light by metal
atoms and use line spectra in identifying elements.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- explain the production of atomic emission spectra and what happens to a sample
during the process,
- know in simple terms that a line emission spectrum results from electrons
relaxing from a higher energy level to a lower one and emitting radiation,
- explain the use of line emission spectra to identify elements,
- compare line emission spectra to identify the elements in a sample,
- use atomic emission spectroscopy to determine the concentration of metal
ions,
- compare atomic emission spectroscopy, particularly flame emission spectroscopy,
with flame tests,
- use data from a flame photometer to determine the identity or concentration of
ions in a dilute solution.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- electron shells,
- flame tests.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- named series such as Lyman and Bulmer,
- quantitative descriptions of emission spectroscopy, for example, transition
energies or energy levels.