An electric field can be used to accelerate charged particles.  Conservation of energy tells us that the work done by the field is equal to the change in the particle’s kinetic energy.  The speed of the particle can be determined if its charge and the accelerating voltage are known.  These notes show how to perform the calculation. ... Read more

An electric field can be used to accelerate charged particles.  Conservation of energy tells us that the work done by the field is equal to the change in the particle’s kinetic energy.  The speed of the particle can be determined if its charge and the accelerating voltage are known.  These notes show how to perform the calculation.

These short video clips show how to draw electric field lines for point charges and parallel plates, with example calculations for the work done by electric fields and the final speed of charged particles in electric fields.

Q1(a) Electric fields lines around point charges from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q1b – Electric field between parallel plates from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q2 – Work done in moving a charged particle through a potential difference from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q3 – Calculating the speed of a charged particle in an electric field from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

We’ve been looking at the photoelectric effect this week.  In this video, Professor Dave reviews some of the points we covered in class.

Click on the picture below to download a simulation to investigate the effect of irradiance on frequency on photocurrent.  You’ll be prompted to install Java if you don’t have it already.

Once the animation is running, you can;

change the metal under investigation (we used zinc in class)

vary the wavelength of the incident light

vary the irradiance of the incident light.

Notice that below the theshold frequency you can’t get any photoelectrons, even if you set the light to its brightest setting.

Compare your results to the graphs provided in your notes.

I have attached some notes & questions on the photoelectric effect. Click on the link below to download a copy.

Here is a link to some revision notes for the Our Dynamic Universe unit.

Your homework questions are attached.  Please return to me by Wednesday 20th September.

Here are some notes to help you prepare for the assessment later this week. There are also some useful resources on BBC Bitesize.

As promised, here are the Scholar notes for unit 2 of the CfE Higher course.

Your assignment will be based on an optoelectronics topic.  You will get some ideas for practical work by downloading this booklet.

I have attached a copy of the Scholar notes for unit 3 of the CfE Higher course.  You will find background physics with appropriate energy band explanations on pages 103-142.

Don’t print this document, it’s huge!

Remember that your unit assessment for P&W will take place at the end of this week.  The attached notes might be helpful during your revision.

An electric field can be used to accelerate charged particles.

Conservation of energy tells us that

work done by the electric field = change in the particle’s kinetic energy

The speed of the particle can be determined if its charge and the accelerating voltage (potential difference) are known.  The notes attached to the end of this post will show how to perform the calculation.

These short video clips show how to draw electric field lines for point charges and parallel plates, with example calculations for the work done by electric fields and the final speed of charged particles in electric fields.

Q1(a) Electric fields lines around point charges from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q1b – Electric field between parallel plates from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q2 – Work done in moving a charged particle through a potential difference from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.

Q3 – Calculating the speed of a charged particle in an electric field from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.