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You could save money boiling a kettle for one cup of tea by using enough water to boil just one cup.

Energy - Energy and Efficiency

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred. This GCSE Physics quiz helps you practise energy efficiency, wasted energy, and interpreting Sankey diagrams.

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Fascinating Fact:

Sankey diagrams show useful and wasted energy transfers with arrows, helping you compare how efficient devices are.

In GCSE Physics, you learn how energy is transferred between stores and how much of it is usefully transformed. You also compare devices using efficiency calculations and Sankey diagrams.

Key Terms

Energy transfer: When energy moves from one store or place to another, such as electrical energy changing to heat and light in a lamp.
Efficiency: A measure of how much input energy is transferred usefully, usually written as a number between 0 and 1 or as a percentage.
Sankey diagram: A diagram that uses arrows to show the size of useful and wasted energy transfers in a device or process.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do you calculate efficiency in GCSE Physics?

In GCSE Physics, efficiency is calculated by dividing the useful energy or power output by the total energy or power input, then multiplying by 100 to give a percentage.

What does a Sankey diagram show in energy transfers?

A Sankey diagram shows how input energy is split into useful and wasted energy. The width of each arrow is proportional to the amount of energy in that transfer.

How can you reduce wasted energy in everyday devices?

Wasted energy can be reduced by improving insulation, reducing friction with lubrication, using more efficient components, and switching off devices when they are not needed.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

What is the efficiency of a solar cell if 1000 J of solar energy hits the cell and 200 J are converted into electrical energy?

10%

20%

30%

40%

200 divided by 1000 then multiplied by 100 to convert into a percentage

2 .

What is electrical energy converted into when a drill is used?

Kinetic energy

Sound

Heat

All of the above

It is the kinetic energy that is useful

3 .

An old boiler system is replaced with a solar heating system. The old boiler cost £250 per year to run. The new solar heating system costs £0 to run but cost £2,000 to install. How long will it take to start saving money?

4 years

6 years

8 years

10 years

The solar water heating system saves £250 per year so dividing the cost of installation by the savings each year leads you to the correct answer

4 .

Electrical energy in a kettle changes to what type(s) of energy?

Heat

Sound

Light

All of the above

Whilst heat is the predominant output of energy transfer, sound and light are given off as wasted energy. It could be argued that the light is actually useful as it lets you see that the electricity to the kettle is switched on but it is generally regarded as wasted since it isn't involved directly in boiling the water

5 .

Electrical energy in a TV changes to what type(s) of energy?

Heat

Sound

Light

All of the above

The TV also emits the same types of energy transfers, however they are in a different proportion with light and sound being the dominant transfers

6 .

An energy saving bulb replaces a 60 W lamp which cost £4.65 each year to run and 20p to buy. The new low energy bulb costs just £2 per year to run and 65p to buy. How long will it take to start saving money on the running costs due to the change?

4 months

5 months

6 months

12 months

The 60 W lamp costs just under 39p per month to run, the energy saving bulb costs just under 17p per month to run. By the end of 3 months, the 60W bulb will have cost about £1.37 to buy and run but the energy saving bulb has cost £1.26 to buy and run so from late on in the third month, money is saved. The closest answer to this is 4 months, therefore that is the correct choice

7 .

What would be a good idea to save energy and money?

Replace old appliances with energy efficient ones

Only leave appliances switched on when being used

Use energy saving light bulbs

All of the above

Performing all of the steps above may cost a lot in the short term, however the long term benefits of implementing such a plan would help to reduce your yearly bills and help the environment too!

8 .

How could you save money boiling a kettle for one cup of tea?

Use only enough water to boil for one cup

You cannot

Fill kettle to the top

Fill kettle half-way

Do any members of your family automatically fill up the kettle whenever they make a cup of tea or is everyone 'energy aware' and only uses the amount of water that is needed?

9 .

Which appliance uses the most energy?

Energy saving light bulb

Tumble dryer

Solar panel

You are expected to be aware of appliances that use a lot of energy and those which use less energy either with or without being given any energy transfer or power figures

10 .

A heat exchanger can be used to convert which type of wasted energy into a useful source of power?

Light

Sound

Heat

Electrical

It's all in the name! Adding a heat exchanger system to a chimey can recover some of the heat that would have been lost to the outside. This can then go towards heating domestic hot water or heating the house, increasing the efficiency. In eco-houses, heat exchangers are used to warm the air coming in through the ventilation system. This increases the efficiency of the house by keeping heat energy that would otherwise have been lost to the outside, inside the house

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Work, power and efficiency

Author: Martin Moore