argon and krypton
krypton and xenon
helium and argon
argon and xenon
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Now, the key part here is “flash tube.” Imagine a little tiny tube inside a camera that lights up super fast. The tube is filled with some gas. When electricity passes through it, the gas gets excited and releases light. That light is what gives the flash in your photo.
Now, not just any gas will work. The gas has to be one that lights up really brightly when electricity passes through it. That’s why photographers don’t just use air or oxygen or something normal. They use special gases called noble gases. Noble gases are elements that don’t react easily with other elements, and they glow brightly when electricity passes through them.
Some examples of noble gases are argon, krypton, and xenon. You’ll notice that all the options in the question are mixtures of these gases, except helium sometimes comes in. But helium doesn’t produce as strong or bright a light as the others, so it’s not really used in flash tubes.
Let’s go option by option.
Option A: argon and krypton
This sounds reasonable because both argon and krypton are noble gases. Argon is cheap and stable. Krypton is a bit more expensive, but it makes the light brighter. You’ll see this combination sometimes, but it’s not the best one for the brightest flash.
Option B: krypton and xenon
This is the classic one used in flash tubes. Krypton helps produce light quickly, and xenon gives a very bright, white flash that’s perfect for photography. This is the one you want. If you ever see a science diagram of a camera flash tube, it usually says “xenon flash tube.” Xenon is the star here.
Option C: helium and argon
Helium is the one that makes balloons float. It can glow under electricity, but it’s not bright enough for photography flash. Argon alone can glow too, but the combination of helium and argon isn’t used in photographers’ flashes. It’s too dim. This option is wrong because it doesn’t give enough light.
Option D: argon and xenon
This one is tricky. Argon is cheap, xenon is bright. Some flash tubes might use argon as a starter gas to help the xenon ignite, but the really standard and widely tested combination in JAMB questions is krypton and xenon. So even though this combination can work, it’s not the “textbook answer” for exams.
So the correct answer is krypton and xenon. That’s option B.
Both options are used in photographer's flash tube,but the question does not specify on using the mixture for high-speed picture and a mixture of Krypton nd xenon are used in photographer's flash tube,for high-speed picture.
Therefore the answer is A
Why the answer is B Krypton and xenon
📸 Explanation:
Photographer’s flash tubes use noble gases, mainly xenon, often mixed with krypton, because they produce a bright white flash when electrically excited.
The correct answer to this question is A (that is argon and krypton).
This is according to Godwin O. Ojokuku (Understanding Chemistry for schools and colleges, revised edition 2012, p118).
