Photovoltaic effect

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/photovoltaic-effect

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Photovoltaic effect?1839
2. What is the discoverer?Edmond Becquerel
3. What is the primary material?Silicon (though other semiconductors and materials like perovskites are used)
4. How does sunlight make electricity in a solar cell?Light hits the material, gives energy to electrons, and those electrons move to create a voltage and a current.
5. Why do solar cells need a p‑n junction?A p‑n junction creates an electric field that pushes electrons and holes apart, letting them flow out as usable current.

Band gap: The minimum energy required for an electron in a semiconductor to jump to a higher energy level.
P-n junction: The interface between two types of semiconductor material (p-type and n-type) that creates an internal electric field.
Charge recombination: The process where an electron and a hole meet and cancel each other out, reducing current.