• Journal of Science Education
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.112-121
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• 2020

The photoelectric effect is a representative phenomenon explaining the particle nature of light and is an important theme that led to the transition from classical physics to modern physics. Although the secondary school curriculum deals with the photoelectric effect, teachers and students are often confused with terms because the explanation of the 'light intensity' is different from that of electromagnetic waves. Hence, this study examines how modern physics textbooks explain the intensity of light through photon model. We analyzed the photoelectric effect unit of 10 modern physics textbooks. Results show that there are two different types of representation on 'light intensity.' Especially those two different types were found even within a textbook. Modern physics textbooks do not seem to provide a unified presentation of the light and cautions to describe the photoelectric effect and its interpretation are suggested for teaching light intensity in modern physics.