If the wavelength of a photon is doubled, what happens to its energy? (2019)
Practice Questions
Q1
If the wavelength of a photon is doubled, what happens to its energy? (2019)
It doubles
It halves
It remains the same
It quadruples
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the wavelength of a photon is doubled, what happens to its energy? (2019)
Step 1: Understand that the energy of a photon is related to its wavelength by the formula E = hc/λ, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is the wavelength.
Step 2: Recognize that in this formula, energy (E) is inversely proportional to wavelength (λ). This means that as the wavelength increases, the energy decreases.
Step 3: If the wavelength (λ) is doubled, it means that λ becomes 2λ.
Step 4: Substitute the new wavelength into the formula: E = hc/(2λ).
Step 5: Notice that this can be simplified to E = (hc/λ) * (1/2), which shows that the new energy is half of the original energy.
Step 6: Conclude that if the wavelength of a photon is doubled, its energy is halved.
