Emission of light from an atom occurs when an electron

drops from a higher to a lower energy level

jumps from a lower to a higher energ) level

moves within its atomic orbital

falls into the nucleus

The answer is:

drops from a higher to a lower energy level

Emission of light occur from an atom when electron drop from a higher energy level to lower energy level.

Explanation:

Excitation:

When the energy is provided to the atom the electrons by absorbing the energy jump to the higher energy levels. This process is called excitation. The amount of energy absorbed by the electron is exactly equal to the energy difference of orbits.

De-excitation:

When the excited electron fall back to the lower energy levels the energy is released in the form of radiations. this energy is exactly equal to the energy difference between the orbits. The characteristics bright colors are due to the these emitted radiations. These emitted radiations can be seen if they are fall in the visible region of spectrum.