CALCULATE THE ENERGY OF A PHOTON OF RED LIGHT
To calculate the energy of a photon of red light, we can use the equation for the energy of a photon, which is given by:
E = hf
Where:
E = energy of the photon
h = Planck's constant (approximately 6.626 x 10^-34 J·s)
f = frequency of the light wave
Step 1: Determine the frequency of red light.
Red light has a wavelength range of approximately 630 to 700 nanometers (nm). To calculate the frequency, we can use the equation:
c = λf
Where:
c = speed of light (approximately 3 x 10^8 m/s)
λ = wavelength of the light
We need to convert the wavelength of red light from nanometers to meters by dividing by 10^9:
λ = 700 nm / (10^9 nm/m) = 7 x 10^-7 m
Now we can rearrange the equation to solve for f:
f = c / λ
Plugging in the values:
f = (3 x 10^8 m/s) / (7 x 10^-7 m) ≈ 4.29 x 10^14 Hz
Step 2: Calculate the energy of the photon.
Now we can use the frequency we calculated to find the energy of the photon using the equation E = hf:
E = (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s) x (4.29 x 10^14 Hz)
E ≈ 2.84 x 10^-19 Joules (J)
Therefore, the energy of a photon of red light is approximately 2.84 x 10^-19 Joules (J).