1. Explain what happens when light falls on a surface, say on your hand. Why is that you see the colors that you see? Could your hand appear red? Explain!
2. What are atomic energy levels? How do we know that they exist (what is the proof of their existence)?
3. Do all atoms have the same set of energy levels, or do these vary? How do we infer the answer from our observations in the laboratory?
4. What are radiative transitions? Give three distinct examples of this (in terms of energy of photon).
5. Do atoms change energy levels through any other process aside from radiative transition?
6. Use the model of atomic energy levels to describe why low intensity UV light could be more harmful than very high intensity IR light (say, for biological materials).
7. What is fluorescence? Give an example of this.
8. What happens to atomic energy levels in molecules? In solids?
9. How is light generated? In an incandescent lamp? In a fluorescent lamp?

Last modified Wednesday, 22-Oct-2003 malekis@union.edu