Gizmos - Photoelectric Effect

Name: Date:
Student Exploration: Photoelectric Effect

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: electron volt, frequency, photoelectric effect, photon, photon flux, voltage, wavelength, work
function
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you went bowling, but instead of a bowling ball you rolled a ping pong ball down the alley. What
do you think would happen?
The ping pong ball wouldn’t be able to knock over any of the pins.
2. Suppose you rolled a lot of ping pong balls at the bowling pins. Do you think that would change the results
of your experiment? Explain.
Yes, it would significantly help knock over the pins.
Gizmo Warm-up
The photoelectric effect occurs when tiny packets of light, called
photons, knock electrons away from a metal surface. Only
photons with enough energy are able to dislodge electrons.
In the Photoelectric Effect Gizmo, check that the Wavelength is

500 nm, the Photon flux is 5 γ/ms, the Voltage is 0.0 volts, and
Potassium is selected. Click Flash the light to send photons of
light (green arrows) toward a metal plate encased in a vacuum
tube.
1. The blue dots on the metal plate are electrons. What happens when the photons hit the electrons?
When the photons hit the electrons, some of them bounce off, and the ones that bounce off hit
the other side and light up the light bulb.
2. What happens when the electrons reach the light bulb?
The lightbulb glows for a couple of seconds.
When electrons reach the light bulb they complete a circuit, causing the bulb to glow briefly.
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Wavelength and ● Check that the Voltage is 0.0 volts and Potassium
flux is selected.
Introduction: Through the centuries, many scientists have debated whether light is a wave or a stream of tiny
particles. In the 1800s, most scientists agreed that phenomena such as refraction and diffraction supported the
“light as a wave” theory. However, Albert Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect showed that light can
act like a stream of particles as well.
Question: What factors affect the ability of light to free electrons from a metal surface?
1. Observe: Click Flash the light with a variety of wavelength values. What do you notice?
Light with wavelengths more than 530 wont have any effect in the electrons. Light with
wavelengths less than 530 increases the speed of the electrons.
2. Observe: The photon flux is a measure of how bright the light is. It is equal to the number of photons that
are released in a given time. It is given as photons (γ) per millisecond (ms).
Click Flash the light with a variety of Photon flux values. What do you notice?
The more photons that hit the surface, the brighter the light gets.
3. Form hypothesis: Answer the following questions based on what you have observed so far.
i. Which factor determines how many photons will strike the metal? Intensity
Explain: The photons increase as the intensity increases.
ii. Which factor determines how much energy each photon has? Wavelength
Explain: The speed of emitted electrons increases as the wavelength decreases,
4. Investigate: Set the Photon flux to 1 γ/ms. Use the Gizmo to find the longest wavelength that will dislodge
an electron from the metal surface. What is this wavelength?
530 nm
5. Predict: Set the Wavelength to 540 nm. What do you think will happen if you flash the light with a photon
flux of 1 γ/ms? What if you flash the light with a flux of 10 γ/ms?
I believe that very little electrons will be released.
6. Test: Click Flash the light with a Photon flux of 1 γ/ms and again with a flux of 10 γ/ms.
What happened?
No electrons were released.
7. Explore: Set the Wavelength to 400 nm. Experiment with different photon fluxes.
i. Does the photon flux affect how many electrons are emitted? Yes
Explain: 10% intensity= 1 electron

20% intensity = 2 electrons.
ii. Does the photon flux affect the energy (speed) of the emitted no
electrons?
Explain: The speed of the electrons didn’t change with the difference in intensity.
8. Infer: For mechanical waves, such as sound waves or ocean waves, increasing the intensity of the wave
increases both the amplitude (height) of the wave and the energy it carries. In that situation, a
low-frequency but high-intensity wave should have the same effect as a high-frequency but low-intensity
wave. How does light behave differently from this model?
Light behaves differently from the model because the intense light doesn’t have the same
effect as non intense light. Long wavelength doesn’t effect the electrons, even when its high
intensity.
9. Think and discuss: How is firing photons at the surface of a metal analogous to rolling different types of
balls at a set of bowling pins? If possible, discuss your answer with your classmates and teacher.
The photons are the bowling ball, while the wavelength is the mass or weight of the ball.
Collisions with metal objects are similar to the pins getting knocked over.
10. Think and discuss: When the photoelectric effect was discovered, scientists were surprised that
low-frequency light was unable to remove electrons, even when the light was very bright In other words,
scientists expected the low frequency to be offset by the light’s brightness.
How does thinking about light as a stream of particles, rather than a single wave, explain this result? If
possible, discuss your answer with your classmates and teacher.
We can’t explain the behavior of the photoelectric effect if it were a wave.

Gizmos - Photoelectric Effect

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Gizmos - Photoelectric Effect

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Name: Date:

Student Exploration: Photoelectric Effect

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

Yes, it would significantly help knock over the pins.

In the Photoelectric Effect Gizmo, check that the Wavelength is

2. What happens when the electrons reach the light bulb?

The lightbulb glows for a couple of seconds.

Explain: The photons increase as the intensity increases.

Explain: The speed of emitted electrons increases as the wavelength decreases,

No electrons were released.

Explain: 10% intensity= 1 electron

You might also like