Question

The ground state energyof hydrogen atom is −13.6 eV. What are the kinetic andpotential energies of the electron in this state?

Answer 1

Ground state energy ofhydrogen atom, E = − 13.6 eV

This is the totalenergy of a hydrogen atom. Kinetic energy is equal to the negative ofthe total energy.

Kinetic energy = −E = − (− 13.6) = 13.6 eV

Potential energy isequal to the negative of two times of kinetic energy.

Potential energy =− 2 × (13.6) = − 27 .2 eV