Chapter 29 Particles and Waves

Chapter 29

PARTICLES AND WAVES

PREVIEW

A photon is the smallest particle of light, and has an energy which is proportional to its
frequency. The photon nature of light is the principle behind the photoelectric effect, in
which the absorption of photons of a certain frequency causes electrons to be emitted
from a metal surface. The Compton effect also verifies the photon nature of light by
showing that momentum is conserved in a collision between a photon and an electron.
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that both the position and momentum of a
subatomic particle cannot be measured precisely. Since light waves exhibit particle
(photon) properties, de Broglie suggested that particles, such as electrons, can exhibit
wave properties.

The content contained in all sections of chapter 29 of the textbook is included on the AP
Physics B exam.

QUICK REFERENCE

Important Terms

blackbody radiation
the radiation emitted by a blackbody, or perfect emitter and absorber of light, due
to its temperature
Compton effect
the interaction of photons with electrons resulting in the increased wavelengths of
the photons and kinetic energy of the electrons
Compton wavelength of an electron
half the maximum wavelength change of a photon in a Compton scattering with
an electron
de Broglie wavelength
the wavelength associated with a moving particle with a momentum mv
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
the more accurately one determines the position of a subatomic particle, the less
accurately its momentum is known
photoelectric effect
the ejection of electrons from certain metals when exposed to light of a minimum
frequency
photon
the smallest particle of light
Planck’s constant
the quantity that results when the energy of a photon is divided by its frequency

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quantized
a quantity that cannot be divided into smaller increments forever, for which there
exists a minimum, quantum increment
quantum mechanics
the study of the properties of matter using its wave properties
wave-particle duality
under certain circumstances, waves can behave like particles, and particles can
behave like waves
work function
the minimum energy required to release an electron from a metal

Equations and Symbols

E  hf where
c  f
Wo  hf o E = energy of a photon
KEmax  hf  Wo  eVstop c = speed of light = 3 x 108 m/s
f = frequency of light
h
    1  cos  λ = wavelength of light
mc
Wo = work function of a photoemissive
h
p surface (denoted by  on the AP

h
Physics exam)
 h = Planck’s constant = 6.63 x 10-34 J s =
mv
4.14 x 10-15 eV s
E  pc
fo = threshold frequency of a
photoemissive surface
KEmax = maximum kinetic energy of
electrons emitted in the
photoelectric effect
e = charge on one electron
Vstop = voltage needed to stop the
emission of electrons
  = wavelength of a photon after being
scattered by a collision with an
electron
θ = angle between the scattered photon
and electron after they collide
p = momentum of a photon
m = mass of a moving particle
v = speed or velocity
Ten Homework Problems

Chapter 29 Problems 5, 8, 10, 15, 17, 23, 24, 28, 29, 43

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DISCUSSION OF SELECTED SECTIONS

29.1 – 29.3 The Wave-Particle Duality, Blackbody Radiation and

Planck’s Constant and Photons and the Photoelectric Effect

In prior chapters we treated light as a wave. But there are circumstances when light
behaves more like it is made up of individual bundles of energy, separate from each other,
but sharing a wavelength, frequency, and speed. The quantum of light is called the
photon.

c
photon

c
In the late 19th century an effect was discovered by Heinrich Hertz which could not be
light wave
explained by the wave model of light. He shined ultraviolet light on a piece of zinc metal,
and the metal became positively charged. Although he did not know it at the time, the
light was causing the metal to emit electrons. This effect of using light to cause electrons
to be emitted from a metal is called the photoelectric effect. According to the theory of
light at the time, light was considered a wave, and should not be able to “knock”
electrons off of a metal surface. At the turn of the 20th century, Max Planck showed that
light could be treated as tiny bundles of energy called photons, and the energy of a photon
was proportional to its frequency. Thus, a graph of photon energy E vs. frequency f looks
like this:
Energy

E
slope  h
f
ΔE

Δf
frequency

The slope of this line is a constant that occurs many times in the study of quantum
phenomena called Planck’s constant. Its symbol is h, and its value is 6.62 x 10-34 J s (or
J/Hz). The equation for the energy of a photon is

E = hf
c
or, since f  ,

hc
E


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The energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency, but inversely proportional to its
wavelength. This means that a violet has a higher frequency and energy than a red
photon.

Oftentimes when dealing with small amounts of energy like that of photons or electrons,
we may prefer to use a very small unit of energy called the electron-volt (eV). The
conversion between joules and electron-volts is

1 eV  1.6 x10 19 J

Planck’s constant can be expressed in terms of electron-volts as

h  4.14 x10 15 eV s

In 1905, Albert Einstein used Planck’s idea of the photon to explain the photoelectric
effect: one photon of energy which is higher than the energy (work function )which
binds the electron to the metal is absorbed by one electron in the metal surface, giving the
electron enough energy be released from the metal. Any energy left over from the photon
after the work function has been met becomes the kinetic energy of the electron.

Photon E

KE max  E photon  

KE max  hf  hf 0
metal
e
where fo is called the threshold frequency, which KE
is the minimum frequency the incoming photon
must have to dig the electron out of the metal surface.

Example 1
The metal sodium has a threshold frequency which corresponds to yellow light. Describe
what will happen if
(a) yellow light is shined on the sodium surface,
(b) red light is shined on the metal surface,
(c) green light is shined on the metal surface,
(d) bright green light is shined on the metal surface.

Solution
(a) If yellow light is shined on a sodium surface, the yellow photons will be absorbed by
electrons in the metal, causing them to be released, but there will be no energy left over
for the electrons to have any kinetic energy.

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(b) Red light has a lower frequency and energy than yellow light, therefore red photons
do not have enough energy to release the electrons from the sodium surface.
(c) Green light has a higher frequency and energy than yellow light, and therefore a green
photon will be absorbed by a sodium electron and the electron will be released from the
metal and have kinetic energy.
(d) If a brighter (more photons) green light is shined on the surface, more electrons will
be emitted, since one photon can be absorbed by one electron. If these electrons are
funneled into a circuit, we can use them as current in an electrical device.

The photoelectric effect is the principle behind any process in which light produces
electricity, such as a solar calculator or an auto-focus camera.

The graph of maximum kinetic energy of a photoelectron vs. frequency of light incident
on a sodium surface would look like this:
Kinetic
Energy
E
slope  h
f

frequency
R O Y G B V

Note that the electrons have no kinetic energy up to the threshold frequency (color), and
then their kinetic energy is proportional to the frequency of the incoming light.

Example 2
photon
photoemissive
surface

Adjustable Voltage

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 Chapter 29 Particles and Waves

Light is shined on a photoemissive surface of work function  = 2.0 eV and electrons are
released with a kinetic energy KEmax = 4.0 eV.

(a) What voltage, called the stopping voltage Vstop, would be necessary to stop the
emission of electrons?

(b) Determine the energy of each of the incoming photons in eV and in Joules.

(c) Determine the frequency of the incoming photons in Hz.

(d) If photons of wavelength λ = 2.5x10-7m were shined on this photoemissive surface,

would electrons be emitted from the surface? Justify your answer.

Solution
(a) Stopping the emission of electrons requires work equal to the maximum kinetic
energy of the electrons:

KE max  W  q eV stop

V stop 
KE max

 
 4.0 eV  1.6 x10 19 J / eV  4.0 Volts
qe 1.6 x10 19 C
Thus, it would take 4.0 V to stop electrons with a kinetic energy of 4.0 eV, as we might
expect.

E photons  KE max    4.0 eV  2.0 eV  6.0 eV

(b)
 
6.0eV 1.6 x10 19 J / eV  9.6 x10 19 J

E photon 9.6 x10 19 J

(c) f    34
 1.5 x1015 Hz
h 6.6 x10 J / Hz
(d) The wavelength of these incoming photons corresponds to a frequency of
c 3x10 8 m / s
f    1.2 x1015 Hz
 2.5 x10 m7

Now we need to check to see if this frequency is higher than the threshold frequency f0:
 2.0eV
f0    4.8 x1014 Hz.
h 4.14 x10 15 eV / Hz

The incoming frequency is higher than the threshold frequency, so electrons will be
emitted from the metal surface.

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29.4 The Momentum of a Photon and the Compton Effect

Since a photon has energy, does it follow that it has momentum? Recall in an earlier
chapter that we defined momentum as the product of mass and velocity. But a photon has
no mass. It turns out that in quantum physics, photons do have momentum which is
inversely proportional to its wavelength. The equation for the momentum of a photon is
h
p


Photons can and do impart momentum to sub-atomic particles in collisions that follow
the law of conservation of momentum. This phenomena was experimentally verified by
Arthur Compton in 1922. Compton aimed x-rays of a certain frequency at electrons, and
when they collided and scattered, the x-rays were measured to have a lower frequency
indicating less energy and momentum. The scattering of x-ray photons from an electron
with a loss in energy of the x-ray photon is called the Compton effect. It is difficult to
understand how a photon, having only energy and no mass, can collide with a particle
like an electron and change its momentum, but this has been verified experimentally
many times.

Example 3
Before After

c c
electron electron
photon photon

A photon is fired at an electron which is initially at rest. The photon strikes the electron
and reverses its direction, as shown in the diagram representing the photon and electron
after the collision.

(a) Determine the shift in wavelength of the photon as a result of the collision.

The photon is an x-ray with a wavelength of 6.62 x 10-11 m.

(b) Determine
i. the initial momentum of the photon before the collision with the electron.
ii. the final momentum of the photon after the collision with the electron.

(c) Find the final momentum of the electron after the collision.

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Solution
(a) The Compton equation gives the shift in wavelength:
h 6.62 x10 34 J / Hz
    1  cos   1  cos180  4.84 x1012 m
mc 9.11x10 kg  3x10 m / s 
 31 8

h 6.62 x10 34 J / Hz

(b) i. p    1.00 x10 23 kgm / s
 6.62 x10 11 m
ii. The momentum of the photon after the collision p΄ corresponds to the new
wavelength λ΄:
h h 6.62 x10 34 J / Hz
p      9.32 x10 24 kgm / s
     6.62 x10 m  4.84 x10 m
11 12

The momentum of the photon is given a negative sign, since it reverses direction after the
collision.

(c) By the law of conservation of momentum, the momentum lost by the photon must
have been gained by the electron.
   
p  p   p   9.32 x10 24 kgm / s  1.00 x10 23 kgm / s  1.93x10 23 kgm / s

lost by the photon. Thus, the momentum gained by the electron is 1.93 x 10-23 kgm/s.

29.5 The de Broglie Wavelength and the Wave Nature of Matter

In 1924, Louis de Broglie reasoned that if a wave such as light can behave like a particle,
having momentum, then why couldn’t particles behave like waves? If the momentum of a

h h
photon can be found by the equation p  , then the wavelength can be found by   p

. De Broglie suggested that for a particle with mass m and speed v, we could write the
h
equation as   , and the wavelength of a moving particle could be calculated. This
mv
hypothesis was initially met with a considerable amount of skepticism until it was shown
by Davisson and Germer in 1927 that electrons passing through a nickel crystal were
diffracted through the crystal, producing a diffraction pattern on a photographic plate.
Thus, de Broglie’s hypothesis that particles could behave like waves was experimentally
verified. Nuclear and particle physicists must take into account the wave behavior of
subatomic particles in their experiments. We typically don’t notice the wave properties of
objects moving around us because the masses are large in comparison to subatomic
particles and the value for Planck’s constant h is extremely small. But the wavelength of
any moving mass is inversely proportional to the momentum of the object.

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29.6 The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Since a photon is the smallest and most unobtrusive measuring device we have available
to us, and even a photon has too large of a momentum to make accurate measurements of
the speed and position of sub-atomic particles, we must admit to an uncertainty that will
always exist in quantum measurements. This limit to accuracy at this level was
formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1928 and is called the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle. It can be stated like this:

There is a limit to the accuracy of the measurement of the speed (or momentum) and
position of any sub-atomic particle. The more accurately we measure the speed of a
particular particle, the less accurately we can measure its position, and vice-versa.

CHAPTER 29 REVIEW QUESTIONS

For each of the multiple choice questions below, choose the best answer.

1. The smallest, discrete value of any 4. The threshold frequency of zinc for
quantity in physics is called the the photoelectric effect is in the
(A) atom ultraviolet range. Which of the following
(B) molecule will occur if x-rays are shined on a zinc
(C) proton metal surface?
(D) electron (A) No electrons will be emitted from
(E) quantum the metal.
(B) Electrons will be released from the
2. The smallest discrete value of metal but have no kinetic energy.
electromagnetic energy is called the (C) Electrons will be released from the
(A) photon metal and have kinetic energy.
(B) proton (D) Electrons will be released from the
(C) electron metal but then will immediately be
(D) neutron recaptured by the zinc atoms.
(E) quark (E) Electrons will simply move from one
zinc atom in the metal to another
3. Which of the following photons has zinc atom in the metal.
the highest energy?
(A) x-ray
(B) ultraviolet light
(C) green light
(D) microwave
(E) radio wave

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5. A metal surface has a threshold
frequency for the photoelectric effect
which corresponds to green light. If blue
light is shined on this metal,
(A) no electrons will be emitted from the
metal.
(B) the number of emitted electrons is
proportional to the brightness
(intensity) of the blue light.
(C) the electrons will have no kinetic
energy.
(D) more electrons will be emitted than
if green light were shined on the
metal.
(E) electrons will be emitted from the
metal, but since the light is not
green, only a few electrons will be
released.
6. Light is shined on a metal surface
which exhibits the photoelectric
effect according to the graph shown.
What color(s) correspond to the
threshold frequency of the metal?
(A) red only
(B) red and orange
(C) red, orange, yellow, and green
(D) blue only
(E) blue, indigo, and violet
KE
R O Y G B V
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7. Which of the following is true of the
momentum of a photon?
(A) It is proportional to the wavelength
of the photon.
(B) It is inversely proportional to the
wavelength of the photon.
(C) It is inversely proportional to the
square of the wavelength of the
photon.
(D) It is proportional to the mass of the
photon.
(E) It is equal to the energy of the
photon.
8. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle
implies that
(A) Electrons are too small to be studied.
(B) Every photon is exactly the same
size.
(C) The more you know about the
momentum of an electron, the less
you can know about its position.
(D) The more you know about the
energy of a photon, the less you can
know about its frequency.
(E) You cannot state with accuracy the
number of electrons in an atom.
9. Which of the following statements is
true for the de Broglie wavelength of a
moving particle?
(A) It is never large enough to measure
(B) It is proportional to the speed of the
particle.
(C) It is inversely proportional to the
momentum of the particle.
(D) It is equal to Planck’s constant.
(E) It has no effect on the behavior of
electrons.
 Chapter 29 Particles and Waves

10. When a photon transfers momentum to an electron, the wavelength of the photon
(A) increases
(B) decreases
(C) remains the same
(D) is equal to the wavelength of the
electron
(E) is always in the x-ray range

Free Response Question

Directions: Show all work in working the following question. The question is worth 15
points, and the suggested time for answering the question is about 15 minutes. The parts
within a question may not have equal weight.

1. (15 points)
photon
photoemissive
surface

Adjustable Voltage
Light of a certain wavelength is shined on a photoemissive surface, ejecting electrons as
shown above. The graph below show the maximum kinetic energy of each electron
(x 10-20 J) vs. frequency of the incoming light (x 1014 Hz).

(a) On the graph below, draw the line that is your estimate of the best straight-line fit to
the data points.

(b) Using your graph, find a value for Planck’s constant, and briefly explain how you
found the value.

(c) From the graph, estimate the threshold frequency of the photoemissive surface.

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 Chapter 29 Particles and Waves

(d) Photons of frequency 7.0 x 1014 Hz are shined on the metal surface. Determine the
i. kinetic energy of the emitted electrons
ii. speed of the emitted electrons
iii. de Broglie wavelength of the emitted electrons.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS TO CHAPTER 29 REVIEW QUESTIONS

Multiple Choice

1. E
The quantum is the smallest discrete value of any quantity, such as the electron for charge
and the photon for light.

2. A
A photon is the smallest bundle of light energy.

3. A
The x-ray has the highest frequency of the choices, and since energy is proportional to
frequency, has the highest energy as well.

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 Chapter 29 Particles and Waves

4. C
Since the frequency of x-rays is higher than the ultraviolet threshold frequency, electrons
will be emitted from the metal and have kinetic energy left over.

5. B
After the threshold frequency is met, the number of photons (brightness) dictate how
many electrons are emitted, since one photon can release one electron. Thus, a brighter
light will release more electrons.

6. D
The electrons begin being released when blue light is shined on the metal, so blue has the
threshold (minimum) frequency for this metal.

7. B
Since the equation for the momentum of a photon is p = h/ , the momentum is inversely
proportional to the wavelength of the photon, implying that a photon with a shorter
wavelength has a higher momentum than one with a longer wavelength.

8. C
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle states that you have to sacrifice your knowledge of the
position of any subatomic particle to know its momentum accurately, and vice-versa.

9. C
According to the equations for the de Broglie wavelength, the higher the momentum of
the particle, the shorter its wavelength.

10. A
A decrease in the photon’s momentum corresponds to an increase in the photon’s
wavelength, since momentum and wavelength are inversely proportional to each other.

Free Response Question Solution

(a) 3 points

The best-fit straight line represents the average of the data points, and therefore there
would be some data points above the line and some below the line. The best-fit line does
not necessarily connect the first and last points, and does not necessarily pass through any
particular data point. You should always use a straight-edge to draw a best-fit line that
you know to be straight.

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(b) 4 points
Planck’s constant is equal to the slope of the graph. Let’s choose two convenient points
on the line to find the slope, (4.0 x 1014 Hz, 0) and (8.0 x 1014 Hz, 20.0 x 10-20 J). Then the
slope would be
KE 20.0 x10 20 J  0
h   5.7 x10 34 J / Hz
f 8.0 x10 Hz  4.5 x10 Hz
14 14

This value for h is close to the actual value of h within a reasonable margin of error.

(c) 2 points
The threshold frequency can be found by marking the place where the graph crosses the
frequency axis. From the graph, f0 = 4.5 x 1014 Hz.

(d) 6 points
i. From the graph, the KE associated with the frequency of 7.0 x 1014 Hz is 14 x 10-20 J, or
1.4 x 10-19 J.
1
KE  mv 2
2
ii.
2 KE 21.4 x10 19 J 
v   5.5 x10 5 m / s
m 9.1x10 31 kg
h 6.6 x10 34 J / Hz
iii.     1.3 x10 9 m
mv  9.1x10 31 kg  5.5 x10 5 m / s 

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