Formative 12.

1. The magnitude of the uncertainty in the position of a particle is equal to the de Broglie
wavelength of the particle. Which of the following is the minimum uncertainty in the
momentum p of the particle?
A.
B.
C.
D.

2. Electrons are accelerated from rest through a potential difference V. Their de Broglie
wavelength is λ. The accelerating potential difference is increased to 2 V. Which of the
following gives the new de Broglie wavelength?
A. 2λ
B.
C.
D.

3. Which of the following is a correct statement associated with the photoelectric effect?
A. Electron emission is instantaneous.
B. Electrons are only emitted if the incident light is above a certain minimum wavelength.
C. The energy of the emitted electrons depends on the light intensity.
D. The energy of the emitted electrons does not depend on the frequency of the incident
light.

4. Ultra-violet light is shone on a zinc surface and photoelectrons are emitted. The sketch graph
shows how the stopping potential Vs varies with frequency f.

Planck’s constant may be determined from the charge of an electron e multiplied by

A. the x-intercept.
B. the y-intercept.
C. the gradient.
D. the area under the graph.

IB Questionbank Physics 1
Formative 12.1

5. The diagram below shows a circuit involving a photoelectric cell. When UV light is shone onto
the metal cathode, electrons are emitted establishing a photocurrent.

Which of the following changes could cause the photocurrent to stop?

A. Increasing the potential difference of the power supply.
B. Increasing the frequency of the UV light.
C. Increasing the intensity of the UV light.
D. Changing the metal surface to one with a smaller work function.

6. Photoelectron emission only occurs if the light incident on a metal surface is

A. coherent.
B. above a certain minimum intensity.
C. below a certain minimum frequency.
D. below a certain minimum wavelength.

7. Light of wavelength λ is incident on a metal surface in a vacuum. Photoelectrons are emitted

from the surface of the metal.
Which of the following best shows the variation with λ of the maximum kinetic energy EK of
the emitted electrons?

IB Questionbank Physics 2
Formative 12.1

IB Questionbank Physics 3
Formative 12.1

8. This question is about quantum aspects of the electron.

The graph shows the variation with distance x of the wavefunction Ψ of an electron at a
particular instant of time. The electron is confined within a region of length 2.0 × 10–10 m.

(a) State what is meant by the wavefunction of an electron.

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(1)
(b) Using data from the graph estimate, for this electron,
(i) its momentum.
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(2)
(ii) the uncertainty in its momentum.
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...........................................................................................................................
(2)

IB Questionbank Physics 4
Formative 12.1

9. Photoelectric effect
A metal is placed in a vacuum and light of frequency f is incident on its surface. As a result,
electrons are emitted from the surface. The graph below shows the variation with frequency f of
the maximum kinetic energy EK of the emitted electrons.

(a) The graph above shows that there is a threshold frequency of the incident light below
which no electrons are emitted from the surface. With reference to the Planck constant
and the photoelectric work function, explain how Einstein’s photoelectric theory accounts
for this threshold frequency.
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(4)

(b) Use the graph in (a) to calculate the

(i) threshold frequency.
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(1)

(ii) Planck constant.

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(4)

(iii) work function of the metal.

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(2)
(Total 11 marks)

IB Questionbank Physics 5