Pennies are made of zinc coated with copper. copper has a work function of 4.7 ev. the ozone layer blocks nearly all solar radiation with wavelength shorter than 320nm, but a very small amount of 200 nm light still manages to reach the earth's surface. can direct sunlight produce photoelectrons from a penny?

yes  it can  λ =265  nm

Explanation:

Here we will use  the relationship

   E = h c/λ  ∴   λ  = E/ hc  where

                                          h= Plank's constant

                                           c= Speed of light

                                           λ = Wavelength = ?

Substituting

note need E in J ,

E = 4.7 eV x 1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹ J/eV = 7.5 x 10⁻¹⁹ J)

λ = 7.5 x 10 ⁻¹⁹ J / (  6.626 x 10⁻³⁴ Js x 3 x 10^8) =  2.65 x 10⁻⁷ m = 2.65

=  2.65 x 10⁻⁷ m x 1 x 10⁹ nm/m = 265 nm

that tool would be a compass