Measurement and Interpretation of Undergraduate Students' Writing about the Experiments of the Photoelectric Effect

This study aimed at examining undergraduate students' writing about experiments related to the photoelectric effect and giving some implications for experiment education. Thus, this study analyzed 26 students' reports about three kinds of experiments: measuring Planck's constant, comparing the photocurrent and the photovoltage across the intensity of light, and comparing the photocurrent and the photovoltage across the frequency of light. In the measurements, less than 25% of the students expressed the data to the correct number of significant figures even though two-thirds of the students successfully obtained the data given in the manual. In terms of interpretation, the students were not aware of the physical meanings of the detailed parts in the graphs. Even though over 50% of the students drew a line relating photocurrent to voltage, no students compared the theoretical to the empirical data or made a judgment as to whether of not the background theory really fit the experiment. The research findings showed that insufficient knowledge and skills for physics inquiry may be an obstacle in performing the experiments well.