Properties of Photons
▶︎ Watch it animatedinteractive step-through · ~3 min · optionalLight is quantized into particles called photons, each carrying an energy set by its frequency: E = hν = hc/λ, where h is Planck's constant. A higher-frequency, shorter-wavelength photon carries more energy. This particle view sits alongside the wave view and explains how matter absorbs and emits specific amounts of light.
The mistakes echo Topic 3.11: inverting the energy relationship (thinking longer wavelength means more energetic photons) and misreading what the photon model says. Energy tracks frequency directly and wavelength inversely — one photon, one packet of E = hν.
The work
3 ways in · any order
Lesson
Photons
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A photon's energy follows E = hν = hc/λ, so frequency and energy rise together while wavelength runs opposite. The lesson computes photon energies and closes with a ten-scenario check.
Diagnostic
10-item topic check
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Ten items spanning the Topic 3.12 misconceptions: wavelength, frequency, and energy relations inverted for photons, and the photon (quantized-light) model misread.
Targeted Practice
Drill a single misconception
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Pick one of the failure modes you missed and drill it on its own. The round is adaptive: two correct in a row clears the misconception and moves you to the next.