Photoelectric effect - experimental

[MarkovMarakov]

Photoelectric effect -- experimental

Homework Statement

Suppose you are doing an experiment to determine the work function of a metal.*
You get k.e.$_1$, $\nu_1$ and k.e.$_2, \nu_2$.
*
We know that k.e.= $h\nu - W$ but when you solve the simultaneous equations, we have a $h$ slightly different from the textbook value.

Question: In such a situation should you

a) Use the textbook $h$ then average {$W_1,W_2$}; or

b) Simply solve the simultaneous equations for $W$

I believe that the values obtained will be different. And no further experiments are done.

Thank you.

Homework Equations

see above.

The Attempt at a Solution

The 2 proposed methods of determining W

 

[Nate810]

will produce different values. The more accurate method would be to solve the simultaneous equations for W. This is because the textbook h is not necessarily the exact value of h you should use in the experiment. By solving the simultaneous equations, you are using the exact value of h that is found in the experiment. Therefore, it is recommended to solve the simultaneous equations for W.