The minimum energy required to remove an electron from the ground state of a hydrogen atom is:
- $3.4\,\text{eV}$
- $13.6\,\text{eV}$
- $27.2\,\text{eV}$
- $1.51\,\text{eV}$
Show answer and solution
Correct answer: B. $13.6\,\text{eV}$
Ionisation energy is the energy required to take the electron from $n = 1$ to $n = \infty$.
$E_\infty - E_1 = 0 - (-13.6) = 13.6\,\text{eV}$.
The value $27.2\,\text{eV}$ is the magnitude of the potential energy in the ground state, not the ionisation energy.