Physical Science

Quarter 2 – Module 8:
Photon Concept and Its Practical
Application

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Personal Development
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 8: Photon Concept and Its Practical Application
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

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Development Team of the Module

Writers: Bayani T. Vicencio, Valeria Amor C. Rosita
Editors: Priscilla D. Domino,
Dennis B. Masangcay
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 Physical Science
Quarter 2 – Module 8:
Photon Concept and Its Practical
Application
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Physical Science 11/12Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on

Photon Concept and Its Practical Application!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their
personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of the
module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module. You
also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage their
own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to the Physical Science 11/12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on
Photons and the Atomic Spectra!

The hand is one of the most symbolic parts of the human body. It is often used to depict
skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and accomplish.
Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner is capable and
empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and skills at your own
pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

This will give you an idea of the skills or

What I Need to Know competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
This part includes an activity that aims to
What I Know check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correctly (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.
This is a brief drill or review to help you link
What’s In the current lesson with the previous one.

In this portion, the new lesson will be

What’s New introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.
This section provides a brief discussion of the
What is It lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.
This comprises activities for independent
What’s More practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.
This includes questions or blank
What I Have Learned sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson.

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 What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will
help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

This is a task which aims to evaluate your

Assessment level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.
In this portion, another activity will be given
Additional Activities to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.
This contains answers to all activities in the
Answer Key module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate
to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
the concept of polarity of molecules. The scope of this module permits it to be used in
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the varied vocabulary level
of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.
But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook
you are now using.

The module is all about:

● Lesson 1 – Photon Concept and Its Practical Application

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. explain how photon theory accounts for photoelectric effect and atomic spectra;
2. apply the wavelength-frequency-energy relationship in solving word problems;
3. explain how the photon concept can be used to explain photographic dark rooms,
sunburns, and our perception of colors;

What I Know

Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Planck’s constant is equal to_______

A. 6.022 X 10-23 J
B. 6.626 X 10-34 Js
C. 2.179 X 10-18 J
D. 3.0 X108m/s

2. The following are characteristics of photons EXCEPT

A. It can interact with other particles like electrons
B. It can carry energy and momentum
C. It has rest energy
D. It has a mass equal to 1.67 x 10-27 kg

3. What is the unit of energy?

A. Watt C. calorie
B. Joule D. joule/s

4. A sunburn is caused by exposure to what type of radiation?

A. Microwave C. Ultraviolent
B. Gamma D. X-ray

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5. Which of the following colors of the visible light spectrum contains the lowest
amount of energy?
A. Red C. green
B. yellow D. blue

6. Arrange the following types of electromagnetic radiation in increasing frequency:

I. Infrared III. visible light
II. Ultraviolet IV. X-ray
A. infrared→ ultraviolet → visible light → x-ray
B. X-ray → visible light → ultraviolet → infrared
C. Visible light → infrared → ultraviolet →x-ray
D. Infrared → visible light → ultraviolet → x-ray

7. Atomic spectra are created due to the changes in the energy of _________.
A. Protons C. electrons
B. Neutrons D. positrons

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE when the frequency of

electromagnetic radiation decreases?
I. Its wavelength also decreases.
II. Its energy also decreases.
III. Its energy increases.
IV. Its wavelength increases.

A. I only C. I and III only

B. II only D. II and IV only

9. For human eyes, different frequencies of visible light are perceived as _____.
A. Waves C. particles
B. Colors D. sound

10. When both the L and M cones of our eyes are being stimulated, what color will
be seen?
A. Blue C. yellow
B. Cyan D. magenta
True or False: Write T if the statement is true, otherwise write F.
11. Max Planck introduced the concept of quantization of light energy.
12. Albert Einstein suggested that light is composed of photons and each photon
has energy .
13. When an atom emits photons, its energy level increases.
14. Wavelength is inversely proportional to the energy of photon.
15. Microwaves have longer wavelength than visible light.

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 Lesson
Photon Concept and Its
1 Application
In your junior high school science, you learned about nature, types and
characteristics of waves, particularly electromagnetic waves. The previous module
focused on the theories that explain the wave-particle duality of light and how light
behaves as it is reflected, refracted, interfered, scattered, dispersed, absorbed and
filtered.
Now you will know more about the nature of light as a particle. You will also
understand how light affects our daily activities. I know you are already excited for
another fruitful journey that will surely LIGHT up your life. But before you move on, do
the activity below for you to find out how much you have learned about transverse wave.

What’s In

Let us have some warm-up exercise for our nerve cells first before we proceed to the
presentation of our lesson. You will perform a simple activity that will help you recall
the basic parts of transverse wave. Have some fun!

Notes to the Teacher

Students should be able to classify that light is a longitudinal wave
when direction of energy and particle is concerned and an example
of an electromagnetic wave since its particle vibration is
perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation and its ability to
transmit energy without any medium. The activity below would allow
students to recall what a transverse wave looks like and identify its
parts.

LABEL THE DIAGRAM

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Directions: Identify the numbered parts of the diagram of transverse wave below.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

What’s New

WORD HUNT
Directions: Find and circle the words listed below in the puzzle. The word may go in any direction
including backward and diagonally.

V B A Y A N I I D O L M
I T E L O I V A R T L U
S W H Y R U S E R I S R
I X B L T U T O R N A T
B Z M T I T Y P E A I C
L S A H D G B H I N F E
E A X A Y M H O A O A P
L R P I C U Q T H M H S
I A L B N I T O K E A C
G W A V E L E N G T H I
H A N Z U L Y N Q E J N
T T C O Q G T H A R N E
W R K N E N E R G Y J P
E Y V X R E T H G I F O
T H O R F R A I K A N T

• visible light • Max Planck

• wavelength 4 • frequency
• spectrum • energy
• photon • nanometer
 What is It

A. Particle Nature of Light

The concept of light as a quantized form of energy emerged during 1900s
when Max Planck postulated the blackbody radiation. This marks the beginning
of quantum theory, which believes that energy comes in discrete units called
quanta. Later on, Albert Einstein supported this idea of Planck and suggested
that light is composed of tiny particles called photon and each photon possesses
energy.

1. Blackbody Radiation
A blackbody is a surface or object that is capable of absorbing all incoming
radiation falling on it and reflects no radiation, thus appears black at room temperature.
However, when exposed to certain amount of temperature, the blackbody radiates
certain amount of energy with associated wavelength. For example, a visible light is
being emitted when the blackbody is heated to about 1000K, but the light becomes
brighter and orange when the temperature is increased to 1500K. Increasing the
temperature further up to 200K, the light being emitted becomes white. This
phenomenon is known as blackbody radiation.
Based on the above example, we can infer that the nature of spectrum emitted
by the blackbody is dependent on the temperature and not on the material the object is
made of. This means that, as the temperature increases, the average wavelength emitted
decreases and radiation becomes invisible. On the other hand, as the temperature
decreases, the wavelength increases, and the radiation becomes visible as red to glowing
white.
In order to explain the blackbody radiation, Planck came up with an equation to
explain the distribution of wavelengths that are emitted from a heated blackbody. It is
given as E=hf
where E is the energy of radiation;
h is the Planck’s constant (6.626 X 10-34Js)
f is the frequency (in Hertz)

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Planck also proposed the Quantum Theory which states that energy is radiated or
absorbed in the form of packets or bundles, called quanta (singular, quantum) and
each quantum is equal to hf.

2. Photoelectric Effect
Albert Einstein used the quantized energy idea of Planck to come up with the
Photon Theory which proposes that light is composed of photons. According to this
theory, photon has the following characteristics:

a. It has a velocity of light in free space. The velocity of light (c) is equal
to 3X108 m/s.
b. It has rest energy.
c. It has zero mass
d. It can carry energy and momentum
e. When radiation is emitted or absorbed, it can be created or
destroyed.
f. It can interact with other particles like electrons.

Using his photon theory, Einstein explained the phenomenon called photoelectric effect.
In this phenomenon, when light strikes a metal surface, the electrons would become
excited and jump out of the metal. This is because, according to Einstein, light consists
of packets of energy called photons which transfer energy to the electron causing it to
become excited.

3. Atomic Spectra
In your Grade 9 science, you learned that electrons orbits or energy levels. As
long as electron stays in the orbit, it does not absorb or emit energy and said to be in
its ground state. But when the atom is being heated, its electrons become excited and
occupy a higher energy level. At this point the electron is in its excited state. As electrons
leave the excited state and return to its ground state again, they emit energy in the form
of photon.

The set of frequencies of electromagnetic spectrum emitted by excited atom is

referred to as the atomic emission spectra. Every element emits a specific energy and
wavelength producing a unique set of banding pattern, thus we can say that atomic
spectra serves as fingerprints of every element. The figure below shows the emission
spectrum of an electrically excited hydrogen atom. The fine lines corresponds to the
emitted light with a specific wavelength while the dark bands in between corresponds
to the absorbed frequencies.

Wavelength (λ) in nanometers

Figure1. Emission spectrum of hydrogen atom

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 B. Relationship of Wavelength and Energy

We learned from our previous science subjects that the relationship between
frequency and wavelength can be expressed using the equation c= λf where c is the
speed of light, λ is the wavelength and f is the frequency. Since the speed is constant, using
the equation, we can infer that frequency and wavelength are inversely proportional.
Meaning to say, as wavelength increases, the frequency decreases and vice versa.
Previously, we learned that E= hf. Combining the two equations, we will arrive at
the formula,

hc
E = ______
λ

Using the equation above we can say the wavelength is inversely proportional to energy.
This means that the shorter the wavelength (the higher the frequency), the greater the
energy.

C. Practical Application of Photon Theory

We can use the knowledge we derived from the relationship between energy and
wavelength to answer the following questions:

a. Why is red light commonly used in dark room?

As you can see in figure below, red light is the region of the visible light
with the longest wavelength (620-780 nm) and with lowest frequency;
hence has the lowest energy. Because of its low energy, red light is
considered as “safe light” and ideally used in photographic dark rooms.
This is because photosensitive materials used in printing are not
photosensitive to red and does not cause “fogging” in prints which can be
seen as blur or dark veil across the print.

Figure 2. The visible light spectrum

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b. Why do people get easily sunburned by ultraviolet (UV) light but not by
visible light?

Ultraviolet (UV) light has shorter wavelength and higher frequency and
shorter wavelength than visible light as shown in the figure 3. Since it
has high frequency, we can expect that it also has high energy.
Therefore, exposure to UV light can cause sunburn or even skin cancer
(prolonged exposure) faster than exposure to visible light.

Figure 3. Electromagnetic spectrum

c. How do human eyes perceive colors?

The human eye can perceive colors because of its cones cells. There are three
different cone cells present in the retina of our eyes, each contains photosensitive
pigment to certain wavelength. The L cone is photosensitive to red (long
wavelength), the M cone is photosensitive to green (middle wavelength) and the
S cone is photosensitive to blue (short wavelength). However, the sensitivity
ranges of the three cones sometimes overlap specially when the light that
stimulates them are near the middle of the visible light. Refer to figure 4 for the
cone sensitivity curve.
Suppose a 550 nm wavelength of light enters your eye, what color of the light will
you perceive? If your answer is green, you are certainly correct. If you will try to
look at the figure 4, the light with 550 nm wavelength will stimulate the green
receptor more strongly than the red receptor and therefore, the your eyes will
perceive green light.

However, when a light with a 580 nm wavelength enters your eyes, both the red
and green receptors will be strongly stimulated hence your eyes will perceive
yellow color based on the additive color mixing as shown figure 5.

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 Figure 4.
Spectral sensitivity curve of the cones of the human eye

Figure 5. Additive Color Mixing

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 What’s More

Short Essay Questions

Directions: Answer the following questions briefly. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. Why is ultraviolet radiation commonly used in sanitizing hospital and

operating rooms?
2. Using the photon theory, explain how atomic spectra are formed.

3. Give the contribution of Max Planck and Albert Einstein in the current
understanding of the particle nature of light.

What I Have Learned

Directions: Identify what is being asked. Write your answers on a separate sheet
of paper.

1. Based from the equation, E= hc/λ, wavelength is __________ proportional to

energy.
2. When electrons leave the excited states and return to return to lower energy
levels, they emit energy in the form of ______.
3. Cone cells of the human eyes have __________________ pigments that detect color.
4. The three types of cones in the human eyes are: ____________, ___________, and
________________.
5. ____________ was proposed by Albert Einstein, which states that light itself is
quantized.

6. The value of Planck’s constant is ______________.

7. __________ is the unit of frequency.

8. Solar energy enters the Earth’s atmosphere in the form of _____________.

9. X-rays have ______ frequency, ________ wavelength and ___________ energy as

compared to visible light.

10. ______ refers to the print deterioration which is seen as blur across the print.

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 What I Can Do

LET’S COMPUTE!
Analyze and solve the following problems below. Show your complete solution
on a separate sheet of paper.

1. A hydrogen gas is contained inside a glass tube. When a bright light is

illuminated, the spectrum showed an absorption line at 654 nm.
What is the energy of the absorbed photon?

2. The red light from a helium-neon laser has a wavelength of 642 nm.
What is the energy of one photon?

Assessment

Multiple Choice: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answer on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. What color in the visible light spectrum contains the highest amount of
energy?
a. red
b. yellow
c. green
d. violet

2. Who proposed the Quantum Theory of Light?

a. Lord Rayleigh
b. Max Planck
c. Albert Einstein
d. Isaac Newton

For numbers 3-5, choose the color of light that would be perceived by our eyes if:
3. Both the green and red receptors are being stimulated.
4. Both the blue and green receptors are being stimulated
5. Both the blue and red receptors are being stimulated.

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 a. Cyan
b. magenta
c. white
d. yellow

6. Who proposed the Photon Theory?

a. Max Planck
b. Albert Einstein
c. Isaac Newton
d. Louis de Broglie

7. Which of the following is the unit of wavelength?

a. hertz
b. joule
c. nanometer
d. candela

8. The quanta of light is called_____.

a. protons
b. electrons
c. photons
d. atoms

9. What happens to the energy of photon when the wavelength increases?

a. It decreases.
b. It also increases.
c. Remains the same
d. Becomes doubled

10. The color of light which is considered safe to use in photographic printing is ____
a. violet
b. red
c. blue
d. white

True or False: Write T if the statement is true, otherwise write F.

11. The red receptors in the cone of the human eyes are sensitive to short wavelength.
12. Wavelength is inversely proportional to the energy of photon.
13. The speed of light is equivalent to 3 X108 m/s.
14. The sun’s energy enters the atmosphere in the form of UV rays.
15. Photoelectric effect refers to the expulsion of electrons from an illuminated
surface of metal.

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 Additional Activities

1. Using your knowledge on personal care products, how does sunscreen

lotion protect your skin from the damaging effect of ultraviolet rays?
Explain why of x-rays and gamma rays are commonly used in
radiotherapy.

2. Why do x-rays and gamma rays are commonly used in treating cancer
(radiotherapy)?

3. Suppose a 490 nm wavelength of light enters your eyes, what receptors

in retina of your eyes will be stimulated and what color will be perceived
by your eyes?

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 14
What's In
What I Know Assessment
1. B 16. D
2. D 17. B
3. B 18. D
4. C 19. A
5. A 20. B
6. D 21. C
7. C 22. C
8. C 23. C
9. B 24. A
10. C 25. B
11. T 26. F
12. T 27. T
13. F 28. T
14. F 29. T
15. T 30. T
Answer Key
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What I have Learned
1. Inversely/indirectly
2. Photon
3. Photosensitive
4. L (long wavelength), M (medium wavelength) and S (short wavelength)
5. Photon Theory
6. 6.626 X 10-34 Js
7. Hertz
8. Ultraviolet rays
9. Higher, shorter, higher
10. Fogging
What’s More
1. UV light is used in sanitizing hospital rooms and operating rooms because of its high energy
that can disrupt or destroy the molecular bonds that hold together the DNA of viruses and bacteria. It is also
effective and much safer in killing drug resistant strains of bacteria without using toxic chemicals.
2. Photon theory assumes that light is quantized. When an element is being heated, its electrons
become excited causing them to jump to the next higher energy level. However, when electrons
return to its ground state, they emit specific energies which are related to the frequencies
observed in the element’s atomic spectrum.
3. A. Max Planck- proposed the Quantum Theory which states energy is absorbed or radiated in
the form of tiny packets or bundles called quanta.
B. Albert Einstein- explained the photon theory, photoelectric effect and supported the idea of
Planck that light is quantized.
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What’s New
 17
References
Additional Activities
1. Most sunscreen lotions contain active ingredients that act as either UV absorber or UV
reflectors. UV absorbers are chemicals that contain carbon (thus called organic) that absorb
UV radiation and convert it to a very low level of heat. While UV “reflectors” are mostly made
up of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, that absorb and scatter UV radiation. Most
dermatologists recommend to use sunscreen lotion with SPF (sun protection factor) 30-50
which filters 97-98% of UV rays from entering our skin. It is also advised to apply sunscreen
lotion 20 minutes before going into the sun to allow the active ingredients to bind properly to
the skin and reapplying it every after 2 hours for maximum protection.
2. X-rays and gamma rays are both types of high energy (high frequency) electromagnetic
radiation. Because of their high energy, they are commonly used in radiation therapy because
of they can able to kill cancer cells (or even the healthy cells) by damaging their DNA. Cancer
cells whose DNA is damaged would stop from dividing and die.
3. Using the additive color mixing curve (in Figure 4, p.12) green and blue curve intersect at 490 nm meaning
to say both green and blue receptors in the retina of the eyes will be stimulated hence, a cyan color will be
perceived by the eye.
4.
Department of Education- Bureau of Secondary Education (2003). Lesson Plans in
Science III(Chemistry).

CHED-PNU. (2006). Teaching Guide in Senior High School-Physical Science.

Commission on Higher Education. C.P. Garcia Ave., Diliman, Quezon City.
Retrieved from https://lrmds.deped.gov.og/detail/14519 last May 19, 2020
Punzalan, J.M. & Monserat, R.C. (2016). Science in Today’s World for Senior High
School- Physical Science. Sibs Publishing House, Inc. Quezon City, Philippines.
Padua, A.L., Padolina, M.C.D., Crisostomo, R.M., & Alumaga, M.J.B. (2016). Physical
Science. Vibal Group Inc. G. Araneta Avenue, Quezon City
Santiago, K. S., & Silverio, A.A. (2016). Exploring Life Through Science-Physical Science.
Pheonix Publishing House, Inc. Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.
Religioso, T.F., & Cordero-Navaza, D. (2017). You and the Natural World- Physical }
Science. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education - Bureau of Learning Resources (DepEd-BLR)

Ground Floor, Bonifacio Bldg., DepEd Complex

Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, Philippines 1600

Telefax: (632) 8634-1072; 8634-1054; 8631-4985

Email Address: blr.lrqad@deped.gov.ph * blr.lrpd@deped.gov.ph

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