Question

Write a short discussion paragraph describing the differences between an atomic spectrum and a molecular spectrum and the cause of those differences.

Answer 1

Basically, the two techniques are used for entirely different purposes.

Atomic spectroscopy's main aim is to find out the elemental composition of a mixture, and hence can be used to identify an unknown element in a mixture and quanitfy it.

On the other hand, molecular spectroscopy is generally used to draw conclusions about the structures and behaviours of the molecules, and hence it is more informative and complex than the atomic spectroscopy.

Atomic spectroscopy involves probing the electronic states of atoms, while molecular spectroscopy involves probing molecular specific properties such as vibration states, spin states, etc.

Hope this helps !