Silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) can be used as semiconducting materials. The band gap between the conduction band and valence band is measured in electron volts, eV. 1 eV = 1.6022 × 10⁻¹⁹J. The band gap of each semiconductor was measured, and the two values were found to be 0.69 eV and 1.12 eV. Which of the two values belongs to Ge?A) 0.69 eVB) 1.12 eVC) Cannot be determined without further information. Silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) can be used as semiconducting materials. Theband gap between the conduction band and valence band is measured in electronvolts, eV. 1 eV = 1.6022 × 10-19J. The band gap of each semiconductor wasmeasured, and the two values were found to be 0.69 eV and 1.12 eV. Which ofthe two values belongs to Ge?A) 0.69 eVB) 1.12 eVC) Cannot be determined without furtherinformation.

Each metal or metalloid is capable of conducting current when the valence electrons of the atom can jump from valence band to conduction band. There is a certain distance between valence band and conduction band, depending upon the distance, the element will be classified as conductors, semiconductors or insulators. The energy required to push the electron from valence band to conduction band is known as band gap. The band gap varies for one element to another. Now silicon has an atomic number of 14 and germanium has atomic number of 32. The elements belong to period 3 and 4 respectively. Therefore, atomic radius of germanium is larger than silicon. The band gap of germanium can be predicted as 0.69 eV, since it has larger atomic radius. Therefore, the force of attraction by the nucleus on the valence electrons will be less. Therefore, it requires less energy to push the electron from valence band to conduction band. Therefore, it is option A. The band gap of 1.12 eV is for silicon. The element has smaller atomic radius. Therefore, electrons have higher force of attraction to nucleus. Therefore, it requires higher energy to push the electron to conduction band. Therefore, option B is incorrect. The prediction of band energy of two elements is done based on the atomic number the the trend in the atomic radius of these elements. Therefore, no additional information is required. Therefore, option C is incorrect.