Which Statement Is Correct About Photon Energy And Wavelength?

Which Statement Is Correct About Photon Energy And Wavelength?

• A. Energy Is Proportional To Wavelength
• B. Energy Is Inversely Proportional To Wavelength
• C. Energy Is Proportional To Wavelength Squared
• D. Energy Is Independent Of Wavelength

Answer: (B)

Photons carry energy that is tied to how often they vibrate, or their frequency, and also to the wavelength through the speed of light. The key relation is E = h c / λ, where h is Planck’s constant and c is the speed of light. This shows energy is inversely proportional to wavelength: as wavelength gets longer, photon energy gets smaller. That’s why this option is the correct statement: energy decreases as wavelength increases. A short-wavelength photon, like blue or violet light, has higher energy per photon than a long-wavelength photon, like red light. If you were to double the wavelength, the energy would halve. The other ideas don’t fit because they would imply that energy grows with wavelength, or is untouched by wavelength, which conflicts with the E = h c / λ relationship (or E = h ν with ν = c/λ).

Photons carry energy that is tied to how often they vibrate, or their frequency, and also to the wavelength through the speed of light. The key relation is E = h c / λ, where h is Planck’s constant and c is the speed of light. This shows energy is inversely proportional to wavelength: as wavelength gets longer, photon energy gets smaller.

That’s why this option is the correct statement: energy decreases as wavelength increases. A short-wavelength photon, like blue or violet light, has higher energy per photon than a long-wavelength photon, like red light. If you were to double the wavelength, the energy would halve.

The other ideas don’t fit because they would imply that energy grows with wavelength, or is untouched by wavelength, which conflicts with the E = h c / λ relationship (or E = h ν with ν = c/λ).