When β-carotene is oxidized in vivo, it breaks in half and forms two molecules of retinal (vitamin A), which is a precursor to the pigment in the retina responsible for vision. The conjugated system of retinal consists of 11 C atoms and 1 O atom. In the ground state of retinal, each level up to n = 6 is occupied by two electrons. Assuming an average internuclear distance of 140 pm, calculate (a) the separation in energy between the ground and first exciteted state in which one electron occupies the state with n = 7, and (b) the frequency of radiation required to produce a transition between these two states. From your results, correct the following sentence (from the options in brackets). The absorption spectrum of a linear polyene shifts to (higher/lower) frequency as the number of conjugated atoms (increases/decreases).
When β-carotene is oxidized in vivo, it breaks in half and forms two molecules of retinal (vitamin A), which is a precursor to the pigment in the retina responsible for vision. The conjugated system of retinal consists of 11 C atoms and 1 O atom. In the ground state of retinal, each level up to n = 6 is occupied by two electrons. Assuming an average internuclear distance of 140 pm, calculate
(a) the separation in energy between the ground and first exciteted state in which one electron occupies the state with n = 7, and
(b) the frequency of radiation required to produce a transition between these two states. From your results, correct the following sentence (from the options in brackets). The absorption spectrum of a linear polyene shifts to (higher/lower) frequency as the number of conjugated atoms (increases/decreases).
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