Investigate Follow these steps to help the chemical company identify the gas leaking into the
lab:
1. In the Emission Spectra tool, select each element to see its emission
spectrum.
2. In the data table below, record the element symbol, atomic number, the
lowest wavelength present in the spectrum (in nanometers), the highest
wavelength in the spectrum (in nanometers), and the total number of lines in
the spectrum.
3. Watch for any patterns in the spectra. For example, is there any correlation
between an element’s atomic number and the lowest or highest wavelength
in its spectrum? Do larger elements consistently have more spectral lines?
Collect Data
Record data about the different emission spectra below.
Emission Spectra of Several Elements
Element
Symbol
Atomic
Number
Lowest
Wavelength
in Spectrum
(nm)
Highest
Wavelength
in Spectrum
(nm)
Total
Number of
Spectral
Lines
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Analyze
Answer the questions.
4. Compare the spectrum of the unknown gas collected at the bulb company
with the data in your table. Which gas is leaking into the lab? Make a claim
and support your claim with evidence.
The leaking gas is:
Evidence: