I hope I don’t sound too negative when I tell you I hate this unit. It has no flow and is super surface-level compared to everything else in the curriculum. Now, I have lamented about this on Facebook groups and learned I may be in the minority. Many teachers said this was their favorite unit. The topics are interesting, relevant, and engaging to students. There is a slight window into the work physicists are currently doing, and that is pretty cool- and these are important experiments- but it is just a bit hodge-podge to me.
Also- shoutout to the best resources for teaching quantum- Perimeter Institute Teaching Resources.
This Perimeter Institute lab activity, which also has a simulation option, adds a much needed hands on experience to a unit where most experiments are beyond the high school lab’s capability. I love it, students love it, and the data is gives is surprisingly accurate!
Here’s the playlist of Youtube videos I use to help teach this lecture! Wave Particle Duality Lecture
I focus on making sure students truly understand these experiments and their impact!
pHet Photoelectric Effect Simulation
This is a simple and straightforward simulation to practice and deepen understanding of the photoelectric effect- specifically helps students with the vocabulary and calculations!
I start this lecture with a class discussion around what they know about how we know about atoms. I ask them if they know prior theories, and what experiments prove their existence- then start with TedEd’s Video The 2,400 Year Search for the Atom before diving into the lecture, which focuses on the HOW we learned what we know!
You get to teach E=mc2! This lecture is a little long, but the math and nuclear reactions are straightforward! Compton scattering is a new focus in the curriculum, but I expect problems will be either conceptual or straightforward, I wouldn’t stress too much about it!