According to Moseley, plotting the curve between √v and atomic number (Z) gives a straight line. What does 'v' represent?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The correct answer is option 3 i.e. Frequency of X-rays emitted.
According to Henry Moseley’s law, plotting the square root of v against the atomic number (Z) gives a straight line, where v represents the frequency of X-rays emitted by an element when its atoms are bombarded with high-energy electrons. Moseley’s experiments demonstrated that each element’s X-ray emission frequency is characteristic and directly related to its atomic number, not its atomic mass.
Other options are incorrect: γ-rays, β-rays, and α-rays are types of nuclear radiation, not characteristic X-rays from inner-shell electron transitions.