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Making the light brighter in a photoelectric experiment increases:
AThe wavelength of the light
BThe number of ejected electrons
CThe energy of each electron
DThe threshold frequency needed
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. The number of ejected electrons
1. Brightness counts photons rather than raising the energy each photon carries.
2. Because the number of collisions with photons increases with brighter light, the number of ejected electrons increases.
3. Each individual electron's energy depends on the frequency, not the brightness.
4. That split between count and energy is exactly what classical wave theory could not explain.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 'Electronic Structure and Periodic Properties of Elements', sections 6.1-6.5_
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