Question Video: Identifying the Name of the Fixed Distances between Electrons and the Nucleus | Nagwa Question Video: Identifying the Name of the Fixed Distances between Electrons and the Nucleus | Nagwa

Question Video: Identifying the Name of the Fixed Distances between Electrons and the Nucleus Science • First Year of Preparatory School

What name is given to the fixed distances around a nucleus that an electron can occupy and move between?

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Video Transcript

What name is given to the fixed distances around a nucleus that an electron can occupy and move between?

This question is asking us to identify the name of the positions which electrons occupy in the atom.

In an atom, there is a dense overall positive center called the nucleus. The nucleus contains positively charged particles called protons. The nucleus also contains neutral particles called neutrons. Surrounding the nucleus, electrons move in orbits. The electrons are negatively charged particles.

Electrons occupy positions in their orbits that are fixed distances from the nucleus. These electrons, as the question suggests, can also move from one fixed distance to another. For an electron to be promoted to a position farther from the nucleus, energy may be absorbed. When this energy is absorbed, the electron is promoted. The electron can then release energy. This causes the electron to fall back down to a position closer to the nucleus. These positions of fixed distance from the nucleus between which electrons can move are called energy levels. Energy levels in an atom are the distances from the nucleus that describe the location of electrons.

Thus, we have determined the answer to this question. The name given to the fixed distances around a nucleus that an electron can occupy and move between is energy levels.

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