OCR A-Level Physics A H556
Practical Skills in the Written Papers
The Practical Endorsement
Physical Quantities and Units
Making Measurements and Analysing Data
Nature of Quantities
Motion
Forces in Action
Work, Energy and Power
Materials
Newton’s Laws of Motion and Momentum
Charge and Current
Energy, Power and Resistance
Electrical Circuits
Waves
Quantum Physics
Thermal Physics
Oscillations
Gravitational Fields
Astrophysics and Cosmology
Capacitors
Electric Fields
Electromagnetism
Nuclear and Particle Physics
Astrophysics and Cosmology
Photon energy and the diffraction grating
- 4 things to know
- Papers 1, 2 and 3
Overview
Recall questions on photon energy in terms of wavelength and frequency, and using a transmission diffraction grating: grating spacing, d sin θ = nλ and calculating wavelength.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How can a transmission diffraction grating be used to determine the wavelength of light?
Explain why blue light photons carry more energy than red light photons.
What equation would you use to calculate photon energy if you know the frequency of the radiation?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
State the equation that relates the energy of a photon to its wavelength.
Model answer
E = hc/λ, where E is photon energy, h is Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is wavelength.
- 2
Explain why blue light photons carry more energy than red light photons.
Model answer
Blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light. Since E = hc/λ, a smaller wavelength results in a larger photon energy.
- 3
How is the grating spacing d found from the number of lines per metre N on a diffraction grating?
Model answer
d = 1/N, so a grating with more lines per metre has a smaller grating spacing.
- 4
How can a transmission diffraction grating be used to determine the wavelength of light?
Model answer
By measuring the angles at which maxima occur, the wavelength can be calculated using the diffraction grating equation.
- 5
State the equation for the condition for diffraction maxima from a grating.
Model answer
d sin θ = nλ, where d is grating spacing, θ is diffraction angle, n is order number, and λ is wavelength.
- 6
In the diffraction grating equation d sin θ = nλ, define each symbol.
Model answer
d is the grating spacing (distance between adjacent slits), n is the order number (an integer), θ is the angle of diffraction, and λ is the wavelength of the light.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Every question in Astrophysics and Cosmology, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.