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Question 8ci- january 2010 g482 ocr physics

in the examiner's report it says: A common misconception was to use the de Broglie wavelength and the energy expression for a photon instead
Why couldn't you do this?

Reply 1

Duskstar

Original post by runny4

in the examiner's report it says: A common misconception was to use the de Broglie wavelength and the energy expression for a photon instead
Why couldn't you do this?

The question is about electrons, not photons, which is why you can't use the energy expression for a photon.

Reply 2

runny4

Original post by Duskstar

The question is about electrons, not photons, which is why you can't use the energy expression for a photon.

but isn't the energy of a photon equal to the energy of the electron

Reply 3

Duskstar

Original post by runny4

but isn't the energy of a photon equal to the energy of the electron

No. An electron is a lepton; a photon is a quanta of energy, and can have the same energy as an electron, but not necessarily.

Reply 4

runny4

Original post by Duskstar

No. An electron is a lepton; a photon is a quanta of energy, and can have the same energy as an electron, but not necessarily.

but energy is conserved in the photoelectric effect.

Reply 5

Duskstar

Original post by runny4

but energy is conserved in the photoelectric effect.

The question had nothing to do with the photoelectric effect - it was about moving an electron through an electric field or something.

Reply 6

runny4

Original post by Duskstar

The question had nothing to do with the photoelectric effect - it was about moving an electron through an electric field or something.

what is a lepton

Reply 7

Duskstar

Original post by runny4

what is a lepton

I'm doing AQA Physics, so my spec probably isn't the same as yours. Anyway, subatomic particles are split into groups - Leptons and Hadrons. Leptons include electrons and neutrinos; Hadrons include protons and neutrons.