HSC Physics Photoelectric Effect

A tutorial sheet of problems on the photoelectric effect follows.

  1. What factors determine the intensity of light shining on a surface?
  2. If the light shines at 30° to the surface of the metal does this change the number of photoelectrons released compared to when the light shines perpendicular to the surface?
  3. The frequency of light is increased but the intensity of the light is kept constant. Describe how this affects the rate at which electrons are released from the metal surface on which the light falls.
  4. Sketch a graph showing the maximum kinetic energy of the escaping photoelectrons versus the wavelength of the incident light.
  5. Why is the maximum kinetic energy calculated in the photoelectric effect? Do some escaping electrons have more kinetic energy than others?