Explore Energy Wastage – GCSE Physics Learning

Physics Quiz - Electricity - Transferring Electrical Energy (Questions)

Electrical devices transfer energy from batteries or the mains. This quiz checks if you can link power, time and energy when working with everyday circuits and appliances.

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Fascinating Fact:

Power is the rate of energy transfer and is measured in watts, where 1 watt means 1 joule of energy transferred each second.

In GCSE Physics, you learn how electrical appliances transfer energy from the supply into useful forms, such as light, heat or movement. You also calculate power, energy transferred and running costs.

Key Terms

Energy transfer: The movement of energy from one store to another, for example from chemical energy in a battery to thermal energy in a heater.
Power: How quickly energy is transferred in a circuit, measured in watts (W), where one watt is one joule per second.
Kilowatt-hour: A unit of energy used on electricity bills, equal to the energy transferred by a 1 kW appliance running for one hour.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do you calculate electrical power in GCSE Physics?

Electrical power can be calculated using P = E ÷ t, where energy E is in joules and time t is in seconds, or using P = V × I, where V is potential difference and I is current.

What is the difference between power and energy in electricity?

Energy is the total amount of work done or transferred, measured in joules, while power is the rate of energy transfer, measured in watts, showing how fast the energy is being used.

How can I reduce the cost of using electrical appliances at home?

You can reduce costs by choosing energy efficient appliances, switching devices off rather than leaving them on standby, using lower power settings where possible and limiting the time appliances are running.

Try These Related Quizzes

What is the useful form of energy produced by a kettle?

[ ]	Sound
[ ]	Heat
[ ]	Microwaves
[ ]	Light

What is the useful form of energy produced by a radio-controlled car?

[ ]	Kinetic energy
[ ]	Radio
[ ]	Sound
[ ]	Heat

Which equation can be used to calculate the amount of energy transferred from a mains supply?

[ ]	E = P x t
[ ]	E = ^t⁄_P
[ ]	E = ^P⁄_t
[ ]	P = E x t

If a kettle uses 3 kW of power when it is switched on and is on for 2 minutes, how much energy is transferred during the period?

[ ]	0.1 kWh
[ ]	0.2 kWh
[ ]	0.5 kWh
[ ]	1 kWh

An electric cooker heating element converts electricity to heat, but what else is also produced in this process?

[ ]	Sound
[ ]	Light
[ ]	Kinetic energy
[ ]	Radio waves

What is the power of an appliance that uses 5 kWh in 15 minutes?

[ ]	20kW
[ ]	10kW
[ ]	5kW
[ ]	1.25kW

If 1 kWh of energy costs 15 pence and an appliance with a power rating of 10 kW is switched on for 20 minutes, how much will the appliance cost to run for this amount of time?

[ ]	25p
[ ]	35p
[ ]	50p
[ ]	75p

On what does the amount of energy an appliance transfers rely?

[ ]	Time, current and voltage
[ ]	Power and resistance
[ ]	Time, voltage and power
[ ]	Resistance and power

Two appliances are switched on at the same time; one appliance uses twice as much power as the other but is on for half the amount of time. Which appliance uses more energy?

[ ]	The appliance which is switched on for the longer period of time
[ ]	The appliance which is switched on for the shorter period of time
[ ]	They use the same amount of power
[ ]	It's impossible to tell

10.

An iron, a kettle and a computer all produce what type of energy?

[ ]	Elastic potential
[ ]	Radio waves
[ ]	Kinetic energy
[ ]	Heat

Physics Quiz - Electricity - Transferring Electrical Energy (Answers)

What is the useful form of energy produced by a kettle?

[ ]	Sound
[x]	Heat
[ ]	Microwaves
[ ]	Light

Sound is the main non-useful type of energy

What is the useful form of energy produced by a radio-controlled car?

[x]	Kinetic energy
[ ]	Radio
[ ]	Sound
[ ]	Heat

Heat is waste energy as is sound, although you could argue that without the sound, the car wouldn't be as much fun, so perhaps the sound is also a useful energy - what do you think?

Which equation can be used to calculate the amount of energy transferred from a mains supply?

[x]	E = P x t
[ ]	E = ^t⁄_P
[ ]	E = ^P⁄_t
[ ]	P = E x t

The amount of energy transferred is equal to the power consumed by the device multiplied by the time period in which the appliance is using that power

If a kettle uses 3 kW of power when it is switched on and is on for 2 minutes, how much energy is transferred during the period?

[x]	0.1 kWh
[ ]	0.2 kWh
[ ]	0.5 kWh
[ ]	1 kWh

Always make sure the values given in the question are in the right form. In this case power needs to be in kW and time needs to be in hours since the answer options have units of kWh

An electric cooker heating element converts electricity to heat, but what else is also produced in this process?

[ ]	Sound
[x]	Light
[ ]	Kinetic energy
[ ]	Radio waves

They glow a dull red colour when they are fully on

What is the power of an appliance that uses 5 kWh in 15 minutes?

[x]	20kW
[ ]	10kW
[ ]	5kW
[ ]	1.25kW

Since the question involves the units of kWh, the time needs to be in hours. 15 minutes is 0.25 hours. Power is the rate at which energy is used, in other words, divide the energy used by the time in hours and you have the answer

If 1 kWh of energy costs 15 pence and an appliance with a power rating of 10 kW is switched on for 20 minutes, how much will the appliance cost to run for this amount of time?

[ ]	25p
[ ]	35p
[x]	50p
[ ]	75p

These kinds of questions are common in many exams. Ensure you are able to rearrange equations and use simple ratios to calculate relevant answers. For this answer, you need to first work out how many units (kWh) are consumed by the appliance in the time given and then convert that to a cost using the price of the electricity. 20 minutes is one third of an hour, so it will transfer one third of 10 kW in that time i.e. 3.3 kWh. Multiply that by 15 pence and the closest of the answers is 50p

On what does the amount of energy an appliance transfers rely?

[x]	Time, current and voltage
[ ]	Power and resistance
[ ]	Time, voltage and power
[ ]	Resistance and power

Sometimes, the examiners will slip in a question where you need to work out the energy transferred by an appliance but only give you the current and voltage. This is to test if you know that the power of an electrical device is given by the current in amps multiplied by the potential difference in volts