Question

How does light with a wavelength of 100 nanometers (nm) compare to light with a wavelength of 800 nm?

1

The 100-nm light has a higher frequency and lower energy than the 800-nm light.


2

The 100-nm light has a higher frequency and higher energy than the 800-nm light.


3

The 100-nm light has a lower frequency and lower energy than the 800-nm light.


4

The 100-nm light has a lower frequency and higher energy than the 800-nm light.

Answer 1

Answer: 2 The 100-nm light has a higher frequency and higher energy than the 800-nm light.

The energy of a wave is related to its wavelength and its frequency according to the following equation, which corresponds to the energy equation of a photon,

E = hc / λ = h ν

where E is the energy of the photons in the wave, h is the Planck constant (6,626x10-34 J s), c is the speed of light in vacuum (3x10 8 J / s) and λ and ν the photon's wavelength and frequency, respectively.

According to the given equation, we see that the energy of the photons changes inversely proportional to the wavelength λ. In this way,

100 nm < 800 nm

Then for the energies and frequencies corresponding to these wavelengths,

E (100 nm) > E (800 nm)

ν (100 nm) > ν (800 nm)

So the 100-nm light has a higher frequency and higher energy than the 800-nm light.