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Scottish Highers The Quantum Nature of Light — practice questions

Explore 3 free The Quantum Nature of Light questions in Scottish Highers Physics. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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The Quantum Nature of Light questions and exercises with answers

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What recognition did Max Planck receive for his work on quantized energy in blackbody radiation?Read the answer and worked solution →What is the name for the twofold property of electromagnetic radiation whereby light has properties of both particles and waves?Read the answer and worked solution →A photon has a wavelength of 500 nm. Using p equals h over lambda with h equals 6.63 x 10^-34 J s, what is its momentum?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

What recognition did Max Planck receive for his work on quantized energy in blackbody radiation?

  1. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905
  2. No formal recognition during his own lifetime
  3. The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1929
  4. The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918
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Correct answer: D. The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918

1. Planck's discovery of energy quantization earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. 2. The 1929 Nobel Prize belongs instead to Arthur Compton, for his later discovery of the Compton effect. 3. Planck did receive formal recognition during his lifetime, so the claim of none is incorrect. _Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "The Quantum Nature of Light", section 21.1 Planck and Quantum Nature of Light_

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What is the name for the twofold property of electromagnetic radiation whereby light has properties of both particles and waves?

  1. The Compton effect
  2. Particle-wave duality
  3. The ultraviolet catastrophe
  4. The photoelectric threshold
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Correct answer: B. Particle-wave duality

1. Light can be modelled as a wave, capable of interference and diffraction, and also as particles, massless photons carrying discrete energy and momentum. 2. This twofold nature, having properties of both particles and waves, is called particle-wave duality. 3. The Compton effect and the ultraviolet catastrophe are specific phenomena that provided evidence for quantum ideas, not the name for this general duality itself. _Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "The Quantum Nature of Light", section 21.3 The Dual Nature of Light_

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A photon has a wavelength of 500 nm. Using p equals h over lambda with h equals 6.63 x 10^-34 J s, what is its momentum?

  1. 1.33 x 10^-27 kg m/s
  2. 1.33 x 10^-24 kg m/s
  3. 3.32 x 10^-41 kg m/s
  4. 6.63 x 10^-27 kg m/s
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Correct answer: A. 1.33 x 10^-27 kg m/s

1. Photon momentum is p = h / lambda. 2. Substituting values: p = (6.63 x 10^-34 J s) / (500 x 10^-9 m) = (6.63 x 10^-34) / (5.00 x 10^-7). 3. Carrying out the division gives p = 1.33 x 10^-27 kg m/s. 4. 1.33 x 10^-24 kg m/s misplaces the wavelength's exponent by three powers of ten. 5. 3.32 x 10^-41 kg m/s comes from multiplying h and lambda instead of dividing one by the other. _Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "The Quantum Nature of Light", section 21.3 The Dual Nature of Light_

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