---
title: "In an experiment investigating the photoelectric effect, monochromatic light of variable wavelength \\(\\lambda\\) is incident on a clean metal surface in an evacuated phototube. For each wavelength, the stopping potential \\(V_s\\) required to reduce the photocurrent to zero is recorded. A student wants to construct a linear graph of the form \\(y = mx + b\\) to determine Planck’s constant \\(h\\) and the work function \\(\\Phi\\) of the metal, using known values for the speed of light \\(c\\) and the elementary charge \\(e\\). Which of the following identifies the quantities that should be plotted on the vertical and horizontal axes and the resulting expressions for \\(h\\) and \\(\\Phi\\)?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123533/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T12:00:03+00:00"
---

# In an experiment investigating the photoelectric effect, monochromatic light of variable wavelength \(\lambda\) is incident on a clean metal surface in an evacuated phototube. For each wavelength, the stopping potential \(V_s\) required to reduce the photocurrent to zero is recorded. A student wants to construct a linear graph of the form \(y = mx + b\) to determine Planck’s constant \(h\) and the work function \(\Phi\) of the metal, using known values for the speed of light \(c\) and the elementary charge \(e\). Which of the following identifies the quantities that should be plotted on the vertical and horizontal axes and the resulting expressions for \(h\) and \(\Phi\)?

In an experiment investigating the photoelectric effect, monochromatic light of variable wavelength \(\lambda\) is incident on a clean metal surface in an evacuated phototube. For each wavelength, the stopping potential \(V_s\) required to reduce the photocurrent to zero is recorded. A student wants to construct a linear graph of the form \(y = mx + b\) to determine Planck's constant \(h\) and the work function \(\Phi\) of the metal, using known values for the speed of light \(c\) and the elementary charge \(e\). Which of the following identifies the quantities that should be plotted on the vertical and horizontal axes and the resulting expressions for \(h\) and \(\Phi\)?

- **A.** Vertical axis: \(V_s\); Horizontal axis: \(\lambda\); \(h = \dfrac{e}{c m}\); \(\Phi = -e b\)
- **B.** Vertical axis: \(V_s\); Horizontal axis: \(\dfrac{1}{\lambda}\); \(h = \dfrac{e m}{c}\); \(\Phi = e b\)
- **C.** Vertical axis: \(V_s\); Horizontal axis: \(\dfrac{1}{\lambda}\); \(h = \dfrac{e m}{c}\); \(\Phi = -e b\)
- **D.** Vertical axis: \(V_s\); Horizontal axis: \(\dfrac{1}{\lambda}\); \(h = \dfrac{m}{e c}\); \(\Phi = -\dfrac{b}{e}\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123533/*