Introduction of the concepts of hole and effective mass using an alternative to the E-k diagram

Received 26 February 2013; accepted 9 October 2013An alternative to the E-kdiagram is proposed as a mean of teaching the concept of hole to undergraduate students who have never studiedQuantum Mechanics. Some background on the application of Quantum Mechanics to crystalline solids is given in order to discuss theconcept of effective mass and the concept of hole. Then, the so-called