Physics

Energy

Change in energy stores

Types of energy store

Kids Hate Learning Many GCSE Energy Names

 Kinetic energy- Energy that makes things move. (Buses)
 Heat energy- The increase or decrease of temperature. (Human bodies)
 Light energy- Energy in a photon. (Lamp)
 Magnetic energy- Energy that is found inside magnets that attracts or repels
magnetic objects. (Fridge magnets)
 Gravitational potential energy- Energy of an object because of its position (height).
(Aeroplane)
 Chemical energy- Energy found in batteries food and fuel. (Muscles)
 Sound energy- The energy found in vibrating objects. (Guitar)
 Elastic potential energy- Energy found in elastic objects. (Inflated balloon)
 Electrical energy- Energy found in wires. (Thunderclouds)
 Nuclear energy- Energy inside an atom. (Nuclear reactors)

Energy transfers
 energy is transferred by one of the following four types of energy transfer:
 mechanical work - a force moving an object through a distance.
 electrical work - charges moving due to a potential difference.
 heating - due to temperature difference caused electrically or by chemical reaction.
 radiation - energy tranferred as a wave, eg light and infrared - light radiation and
infrared radiation are emitted from the sun.
 Doing 'work' is the scientific way of saying that energy has been transferred. For
example, a grazing cow, a firing catapult and a boiling kettle are all doing 'work', as
energy is being transferred.

Energy flow diagrams

 Diagrams can be used to show how energy is transferred from one store to another.
Two examples are the transfer diagram and the Sankey diagram.
  In transfer diagrams the boxes show the energy stores and the arrows show
the energy transfers.

 Gravitational energy stored in the child at the top of the slide is transferred as
mechanical work done to speed up and to do work against friction. The result of this
is a shift of energy from gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy and internal
energy (raising the temperature of the child and the slide).

 Sankey diagrams start off as one arrow that splits into two or more points. This
shows how all of the energy in a system is transferred into different stores.The width
of the arrow is drawn to scale to show the amount of energy.

Energy dissipation

 No system is perfect. Whenever there is a change in a

system, energy is transferred and some of that energy is dissipated.
 Dissipation is the ways in which energy is wasted. Any energy that is not transferred
to useful energy stores is said to be wasted because it is lost to the surroundings.
Electrical cables warming up are a good example of this. It is not useful to have hot
wires behind a television as energy is dissipated to the surrounding air.
 In a mechanical system, energy is dissipated when two surfaces rub together. Work is
done against friction which causes heating of the two surfaces - so the internal
(thermal) energy of the surfaces increases. Adding lubricant between the surfaces
reduces this friction and so less heat is wasted, like on a conveyor belt for example.
  In an electrical context, new types of components can be more energy-efficient. For
example, using LED light bulbs as opposed to filament lamps causes less energy to be
wasted.

Examples of dissipation

 Energy is usually lost by heating up the surroundings though sometimes energy is

dissipated as sound waves.
 The ways in which energy is dissipated depends on the system:
 for a radio or set of speakers, the electrical work is transferred into useful sound
waves and infrared radiation is dissipated - ie wasted as heat energy
 for a tumble dryer, the electrical work is transferred into useful internal (thermal)
energy which helps to dry clothes - energy is dissipated by sound waves

The conservation of energy

 Energy can be transferred usefully, stored or dissipated, but it cannot be created or
destroyed.
 In all cases, energy comes from one store and is transferred to another store. This
means that all the energy in the Universe was present at the Big Bang and will still be
around at the very end of time.
 Examples of conservation of energy
 The skydiver
 When a skydiver jumps out of a plane, he begins to lose gravitational potential
energy as his height decreases and he gains kinetic energy as his speed increases.

 However, not all of the gravitational potential energy is transferred into kinetic
energy as some work is done pushing against the air particles. Some of the
gravitational potential energy is transferred to the air particles and is stored as
internal energy.
 Smartphones
 All smartphones contain a battery that stores chemical energy. When a smartphone
is in use, electrical work is done and a current flows - the battery’s chemical energy is
transferred in a number of ways to light the screen and produce sound.
 The light that comes from a smartphone is emitted as light radiation, and the sound
waves are produced by a speaker that vibrates back and forth.
  In addition to this, many smartphones also heat up when used, so chemical energy is
also transferred into internal energy. This energy is stored in the atoms of the
smartphone’s conductors and it is these atoms that emit infrared radiation.

 Internal energy is a measure of the amount of kinetic and potential energy possessed
by particles in a body.

Calculation of energy changes

Calculating kinetic energy

 kinetic energy (Ek) is measured in joules (J)

 mass (m) is measured in kilograms (kg)
 speed (v) is measured in metres per second (m/s)

Calculating elastic collect potential energy

 elastic potential energy (Ee) is measured in joules (J)

 spring constant (k) is measured in newtons per metre (N/m)
 extension (e) is measured in metres (m)

Calculating gravitational potential energy

  gravitational potential energy (Ep) is measured in joules (J)
 mass (m) is measured in kilograms (kg)
 gravitational field strength (g) is measured in newtons per kilogram (N/kg)
 height (h) is measured in metres (m)

Work, power and efficiency

Energy and work
When a force causes a body to move, work is being done on the object by the force. Work
is the measure of energy transfer when a force (F) moves an object through a distance (d).

So when work is done, energy has been transferred from one energy store to another, and
so:

energy transferred = work done

Energy transferred and work done are both measured in joules (J).

Calculating work done

The amount of work done when a force acts on a body depends on two things:

 the size of the force acting on the object

 the distance through which the force causes the body to move in the direction of the
force

The equation used to calculate the work done is:

work done = force × distance

 work done (W) is measured in joules (J)

 force (F) is measured in newtons (N)
 distance (d) is in the same direction as the force and is measured in metres (m)

Energy and power

When work is done on an object, energy is transferred. The rate at which this energy is
transferred is called power. So the more powerful a device is, the more energy it will
transfer each second.

Calculating power
  power (P) is measured in watts (W)
 work done (W) is measured in joules (J)
 time (t) is measured in seconds (s)

One watt is equal to one joule per second (J/s). This means that for every extra joule that is
transferred per second, the power increases by one watt.

Efficiency

 Devices are designed to waste as little energy as possible. This means that as much of
the input energy as possible should be transferred into useful energy stores.
 How good a device is at transferring energy input to useful energy output is
called efficiency.
 A very efficient device will waste very little of its input energy.
 A very inefficient device will waste most of its input energy.
The efficiency of a device is the proportion of the energy supplied that is transferred in
useful ways. The efficiency can be calculated as a decimal or a percentage, using the
equations:

 This is when both useful energy transferred and total energy supplied are measured
in joules (J).
 It is not possible to have an efficiency of greater than 1 or efficiency percentage of
100%. This would mean that more energy is being transferred than is being supplied,
which would mean that energy is being created. This would break the law
of conservation of energy.
Wasted energy
 Devices waste energy for various reasons including friction between their moving
parts, electrical resistance, and unwanted sound energy.
 Devices can be made more efficient by reducing the energy that they waste
or dissipate to the surroundings. One example is lubrication being used to reduce the
friction between moving parts of a machine.

Energy and heating

Energy transfer
 As well as transferring energy from one store to another, energy is transferred or
transmitted from place to place. As it moves through a substance, energy is
transmitted by conduction, convection or radiation.
 Conduction- transfer of heat energy through solids
 Conductor is the material that allows internal (thermal) energy to be transmitted
through it easily.
 Insulator- a material that will not allowed the easy flow of energy.

Thermal conductivity

 There are a number of factors that affect how energy flows through an object. A very
important factor is what the object is made from.
 Comparing conductivities
 The conductivity of materials can be compared by examining the time taken to
transmit energy through them. A fan of rods made of different materials can be
heated at one end with the same flame. Whichever rod gets hottest first at the other
end is the best conductor. The material that heats the quickest is said to have a
high thermal conductivity.

 Thermal conductivity is a measure of how well the material conducts energy.

Required practical - investigating methods of insulation part 1

There are different ways to investigate methods of insulation. In this practical activity, it is
important to:

 make and record measurements of temperature and time accurately

 measure and observe the effect of different materials as thermal insulators
 use appropriate apparatus and methods to measure the effectiveness of different
materials as thermal insulators
Aim of the experiment

To compare the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators.

Method

1. Place a small beaker into a larger beaker.

2. Fill the small beaker with hot water from a kettle.
3. Put a piece of cardboard over the beakers as a lid. The lid should have a hole
suitable for a thermometer.
4. Place a thermometer into the smaller beaker through the hole.
5. Record the temperature of the water in the small beaker and start the
stopwatch.
6. Record the temperature of the water every 2 minutes for 20 minutes.
7. Repeat steps 1-6, each time packing the space between the large beaker and
small beaker with the chosen insulating material.
8. Plot a graph of temperature (y-axis) against time (x-axis).
Results
 Time (mins) No insulation (°C) Material 1 (°C) Material 2 (°C)

0 ... ... ...

2 ... ... ...

... ... ... ...

Analysis

Plot all of the curves on the same axes. This will make the materials easier to compare.

This graph shows:

 The curve which takes the longest time for the water temperature to drop (the
shallowest) should be the material which is the best insulator.
 The temperature falls quickly at high temperatures and slowly at low temperatures.
 When the beaker is at a high temperature, there is a big difference between the
temperature of the beaker and the temperature of the surrounding air. This means
there is a high rate of transfer.
 When the beaker is at a lower temperature, there is less difference between the
temperature of the beaker and the temperature of the surrounding air. This means
there is a lower rate of transfer.
Hazards and control measures

Hazard Consequence Control measures

Do not overfill the kettle. Place the small beaker inside the large beaker
Boiling water Scald skin before gently pouring the water. Remember to place any scald under cold
running water for at least 10 minutes.
 Hazard Consequence Control measures

Knocking beaker Place the beaker away from the edge of desk. Carry out the equipment whilst
Scald skin
off the desk standing.

Required practical - investigating methods of insulation part 2

There are different ways to investigate methods of insulation. In this practical activity, it is
important to:

 make and record measurements of temperature and time accurately

 measure and observe the effect of the different thicknesses of the insulator
 use appropriate apparatus and methods to measure the effectiveness of different
thicknesses of thermal insulators

Aim of the experiment

To compare the effectiveness of different thicknesses of thermal insulators .

Method

1. Wrap a sheet of newspaper around a 100 ml beaker.

2. Fill the beaker with hot water from a kettle.
3. Put a piece of cardboard over the beaker as a lid. The lid should have a hole
suitable for a thermometer.
4. Place a thermometer into the beaker through the hole.
5. Record the temperature of the water in the beaker and start the stopwatch.
6. Record the temperature of the water every 2 minutes for 20 minutes.
 7. Repeat steps 1-6, each time adding another layer of newspaper around the
beaker until there are 10 layers of newspaper wrapped around the beaker.
8. Plot graphs of temperature against time.

Results

Time (mins) No insulation (°C) Layer 1 (°C) Layer 2 (°C)

0 ... ... ...

2 ... ... ...

... ... ... ...

Analysis

For each layer, plot a line graph of temperature on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. Plot
all of the curves on the same axes. This will make the different thicknesses easier to
compare.

Evaluation

This graph shows:

 Thecurve which takes the longest time for the water temperature to drop (the
shallowest gradient) shows the amount of layers that provide the best insulation.
 Thecurve for no insulation has the steepest gradient at any given time interval when
compared to any other curve. As the number of layers increases, the gradient of
each curve decreases at any given time interval.
  Havingmore layers of paper increases the insulation which means the temperature
drops more slowly. The thickest insulation has the lowest rate of cooling.
 The temperature falls quickly at high temperatures and slowly at low temperatures.
Hazards and control measures

Hazard Consequence Control measures

Do not overfill the kettle. Place the small beaker inside the large
Boiling water Scald skin beaker before gently pouring the water. Remember to place any
scald under cold running water for at least 10 minutes.

Knocking
Place the beaker away from the edge of desk. Carry out the
beaker off the Scald skin
experiment whilst standing.
desk

Specific heat capacity

When materials are heated, the molecules gain kinetic energy and start moving faster. The
result is that the material gets hotter.

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules

Different materials require different amounts of energy to change temperature. The
amount of energy needed depends on:

 the mass of the material

 the substance of the material (specific heat capacity)
 the desired temperature change
It takes less energy to raise the temperature of a block of aluminium by 1°C than it does to
raise the same amount of water by 1°C. The amount of energy required to change the
temperature of a material depends on the specific heat capacity of the material.

Heat capacity

The specific heat capacity of water is 4,200 Joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg°C).
This means that it takes 4,200 J to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C.

The specific heat capacity of a material is the energy required to raise 1 kilogram (kg) of the
material by 1 degrees Celsius (°C)

Calculating thermal energy changes

change in thermal energy = mass × specific heat capacity × temperature change

ΔEt=m×c×ΔΘ
This is when:

 change in thermal energy (ΔEt) is measured in joules (J)

 mass (m) is measured in kilograms (kg)
 specificheat capacity (c) is measured in joules per kilogram per degree Celsius
(J/kg°C)
 temperature change (∆θ) is measured in degrees Celsius (°C)

Required practical - measuring specific heat capacity

There are different ways to investigate methods of insulation. In this practical activity, it is
important to:

 make and record potential difference, current and time accurately

 measure and observe the change in temperature and energy transferred
 use appropriate apparatus and methods to measure the specific heat capacity of a
sample of material
Aim of the experiment

To measure the specific heat capacity of a sample of material.

Method

1. Place the immersion heater into the central hole at the top of the block.
2. Place the thermometer into the smaller hole and put a couple of drops of oil into
the hole to make sure the thermometer is surrounded by hot material.
3. Fully insulate the block by wrapping it loosely with cotton wool.
4. Record the temperature of the block.
5. Connect the heater to the power supply and turn it off after ten minutes.
6. After ten minutes the temperature will still rise even though the heater has been
turned off and then it will begin to cool. Record the highest temperature that it
reaches and calculate the temperature rise during the experiment.
Record results in a suitable table. The example below shows some sample results.

Ammeter reading (A) Voltmeter reading (V) Initial temperature (°C) Final temperature (°C)

3.65 10.80 15 38

Analysis

The block has a mass of 1 kg and the heater was running for 10 minutes = 600 seconds.

Using the example results:

energy transferred = potential difference × current × time

 The actual value for the specific heat capacity of aluminium is 900 J/kg°C. The
calculated value does not match exactly but it is in the correct order of magnitude .

Evaluation

 Allexperiments are subject to some amount of experimental error due to inaccurate

measurement, or variables that cannot be controlled. In this case, not all of the
heat from the immersion heater will be heating up the aluminium block, some will
be lost to the surroundings.
 More energy has been transferred than is needed for the block alone as some is
transferred to the surroundings. This causes the calculated specific heat capacity to
be higher than for 1 kg of aluminium alone.
Evaluation

Hazard Consequence Control measures

Do not touch when switched on. Position away from the

Hot immersion desk. Allow time to cool before packing away equipment.
heater and sample Burnt skin Run any burn under cold running water for at least 10
material minutes.

Energy demands
National and global energy demands and resources

Energy needs

 Systems that can store large amounts of energy are called energy resources.
 major energy resources available to produce electricity are fossil fuels, nuclear fuel,
bio-fuel, wind, hydroelectricity, geothermal, tidal, water waves and the Sun.
 Ultimately, all the energy on Earth originally comes from the Sun but has been stored
as different energy resources.

Energy is needed in:

 homes - for cooking, heating and running appliances

 public services, eg schools and hospitals - running machinery and warming rooms
 factories and farms - operating heavy-duty machines and production chains
 transport
- buses, trains, cars and boats all need a fuel source and some trains and
trams connect to an electricity supply
However, producing and distributing electricity can cause damage to the environment.
Releasing energy from some stores causes pollution and harmful waste products. Burning
fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, adding to the greenhouse effect, and sulphur dioxide
which causes acid rain.

Patterns and trends in use of energy resources

During the Industrial Revolution, advances in automation and transport caused a significant
increase in the amount of fossil fuels extracted and burnt.

In the 20th century, electricity became a convenient way of distributing energy. This
powered a wide range of devices and applications such as lighting, heating, computing
technologies and operating machinery.

Demand for energy varies with the time of year and the time of day. During early evening a
lot of energy is needed for heating, lighting and cooking but overnight there is very little
needed while people sleep. During winter there is more heating and lighting required than
in summertime.

Global energy consumption

Most of the electricity generated globally is still produced by fossil fuels. This is partly due
to:

 thehigh power output fossil fuels give compared to other energy resources, like wind
and water waves
 theexisting infrastructure for extracting, transporting and processing fossil fuels - this
makes fossil fuels cheaper than setting up new alternatives
The recognised impact on the environment of burning fossil fuels has caused science and
society to develop the use of renewable energy resources and make machines more
efficient.

In some developed countries, nuclear power stations are a growing form of electricity
generation. Nuclear fuel can release large amounts of energy compared to fossil fuels and
does not emit carbon dioxide. However, the radioactive waste that is produced is difficult to
store and dispose of.

Other factors that could influence governments’ decisions about the use of energy
resources are political and economic pressures.

For example, countries where the economy is heavily based on extracting and exporting oil,
have a strong interest in fossil fuels to be largely used in electricity generation. In order to
compete with more developed countries, growing countries like China need a large power
output to keep growing their industry. This means they are likely to continue using fossil
fuels and developing the use of nuclear power, alongside increasing supply from renewable
sources of energy.

Renewable or non-renewable?
Renewable energy resource is an energy source that cannot be depleted and are able to
supply a continuous source of clean energy.
Renewable resources are replenished either by:

 human action, eg trees cut down for bio-fuel are replaced by planting new trees
 naturalprocesses, eg water let through a dam for hydroelectricity is replaced through
the water cycle
A non-renewable energy resource is one with a finite amount. It will eventually run out
when all reserves have been used up.

Different energy resources

The table below shows the main features of the most common energy resources used
today.
 Environmental
Energy resource Energy store Renewable? Uses Power output
impact

Transport,
Fossil fuels (oil, Releases
Non- heating,
coal and natural Chemical High CO2 (causes global
renewable electricity
gases) warming)
generation

Radioactive waste
Non- Electricity
Nuclear fuels Nuclear Very high (needs to be
renewable generation
disposed of safely)

Transport,
heating, 'Carbon neutral',
Bio-fuel Chemical Renewable Medium
electricity so low impact
generation

Takes up large
areas that could be
Electricity used for farming,
Wind Kinetic Renewable Very low
generation some people say
windmills spoil the
view

Local habitats are

affected by the
Gravitational Electricity
Hydroelectricity Renewable Medium large areas that
potential generation
need to be flooded
to build dams

Electricity
Internal
Geothermal Renewable generation, Medium Very low
(thermal)
heating

Potentially Tidal barrages can

Electricity very high, but block sewage
Tides Kinetic Renewable
generation hard to which needs to go
harness out to sea

Sun Nuclear Renewable Electricity Dependent Very little

generation, on the
heating weather and
only available
during
 Environmental
Energy resource Energy store Renewable? Uses Power output
impact

daylight

Electricity
Water waves Kinetic Renewable Low Very low
generation

Comparing resources

Power stations that use fossil fuels or nuclear fuel are very reliable sources of energy. These
two types of station provide much of the country’s electricity. They operate almost
continuously. When additional power is needed, gas power stations are usually used
because they will come on very quickly and start generating electricity almost immediately.

The fuel for nuclear power stations is relatively cheap, but the power stations themselves
are expensive to build. It is also very expensive to dismantle, or decommission, old nuclear
power stations at the end of their useful life and the highly radioactive waste needs to be
stored for millions of years before the natural activity will reduce to a safe level.

Water power, eg tidal and hydroelectricity, is reliable and predictable because of the Moon
causing the tides and rainfall filling reservoirs. They can also be used to supply additional
demand. But many of the renewable sources are unreliable, including wind and solar
energy, and cannot respond to increased demand - sunny and windy weather cannot be
guaranteed.

Renewable resources have no fuel costs, but the equipment used is expensive to build.