Return to Headlines

The Study of Electrons

Electron Study

Students in Paulette Freeman's Chemistry classes at PHS studied the process of electrons jumping orbitals, similar in fashion to how fireworks are made.  When an electron absorbs energy, it jumps to a higher orbital.  An electron in an excited state can release energy and fall to a lower state.  The electron then releases a photon of electromagnetic energy.  Summer Holder holds a stick over a Bunsen burner, and she is able to tell by the red flame that the stick had lithium chloride on it.