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Physics - Energy Transfers (AQA)
Birds often appear larger in the winter than they do in the summer.

Physics - Energy Transfers (AQA)

In this GCSE Physics quiz you’ll review different energy stores and how energy moves between them in everyday situations, from falling objects to electric heaters and motors.

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(quiz starts below)

Fascinating Fact:

Energy is stored in types of store, like kinetic, thermal, gravitational, elastic, chemical and nuclear.

In GCSE Science (Physics), you model situations using energy stores and transfers. You describe how energy moves between stores, explain where it ends up, and use this to understand useful and wasted energy.

  • Energy store: A way of describing where energy is kept in a system, such as thermal, kinetic or gravitational potential.
  • Energy transfer: The movement of energy from one store to another, for example by heating, waves, electric current or mechanical work.
  • System: The part of the universe you are studying, such as an object, a group of objects or a whole process.
What is an energy store in GCSE physics?

An energy store is a way of describing where energy is held in a system, such as in a moving object, a hot object, raised mass, stretched spring or chemical fuel.

What are the main ways energy can be transferred?

Energy can be transferred by heating, by waves (like sound or light), by electric current and by mechanical work when a force moves an object.

Is energy ever used up in an energy transfer?

Energy is not used up or created. It is conserved. In many transfers, more energy ends up spread out as thermal energy in the surroundings, so it becomes less useful.

1 .
A student investigated the rate of heat transfer from four identical containers of water. The water was heated to different temperatures (shown below) and she noted the temperature drop during the first two minutes of cooling. Which answer puts them in the correct order, from lowest rate to highest rate?

Container A: 35oC
Container B: 55oC
Container C: 45oC
Container D: 80oC
A, B, C, D
D, C, B, A
A, C, B, D
D, B, C, A
Heat is lost more slowly where the difference in temperature and the surroundings is lower. Hot objects therefore cool down quickly at first and then more slowly as they get closer to the temperature of the surroundings
2 .
In which direction does thermal energy (heat) flow?
Cold to hot
Hot to cold
All directions
It depends on the exact situation
Heat energy always travels from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. There are no exceptions
3 .
At the back of a refigerator there is a condenser which is designed to change the hot refrigerant gas into a liquid. The tubes of the condenser are attached to hundreds of small metal 'fins'. Why?
To make the process of condensation work more efficiently
To make the refrigerator look good
For insulation so that the food inside stays cold
To protect the condenser tubes
Cooling fins make the process more efficient. The rate of thermal energy transfer to the surroundings is faster than it would be if they weren't there
4 .
Why are cooling fins thin and flat?
To give them a small surface area
To make them as light as possible
To make them fit into place better
To give them a large surface area compared to their volume
Since their job is to transfer thermal energy into the air, a large surface area compared to their volume makes them more efficient
5 .
During the winter, moisture often condenses on the inside of windows of old houses. This rarely happens during the summer. Which of the following is likely to be the main reason for this?
There are no plants actively growing in the winter to absorb the moisture for photosynthesis
The glass of the window is colder in the winter than it is in the summer
Central heating systems used in winter give off moisture
Winters are cloudier than summers
Moisture in the air condenses on colder surfaces
6 .
The rate at which an object transfers thermal energy depends on what?
Its surface area
Its volume and what it is made from
The nature of the surface with which it is in contact
All of the above
A hot object with a small surface area, in contact with an insulating surface will transfer its heat energy very slowly
7 .
Based on the information that "the chemical called ether evaporates much faster than water", which of the following statements is true?
Ether must be a colourless liquid
Ether must be a colourless solid
Ether will make a surface cooler than water would
Water will make a surface cooler than ether would
The faster something evaporates, the cooler it makes the surface on which it is placed
8 .
Which of the following statements is false?
Conduction involves thermal energy being passed between vibrating particles
Solids are better heat conductors than liquids and gases
Plastic is a good insulator because it contains free electrons
When a liquid is evaporating it cools down
Plastics are good insulators for exactly to opposite reason. It is metals that contain free electrons which help to make them good conductors
9 .
During the cold weather, birds can often appear bigger than they do when the weather is warm. Which of the following is the most likely explanation?
Muscles in their skin lift their feathers further away from their body than in the summer
People put out food for the birds so they eat more
They do it to try to attract a mate
There are no leaves on the trees so they just look bigger when really they are the same size
Lifting the feathers slightly further than in summer traps more air next to the bird's body. Since trapped air is a good insulator, this keeps them warmer
10 .
A student investigated the rate of heat transfer from four identical containers of water. The water was heated to different temperatures (shown below). She then placed containers B and C in a freezer at -5oC and containers A and D in a room with a temperature of 20oC, and noted the temperature drop during the first two minutes of cooling. Which of the following statements is correct?

Container A: 35oC
Container B: 55oC
Container C: 45oC
Container D: 80oC
Container D cooled the fastest
Container B and container D cooled at the same rate
Container A cooled the fastest
Container B and container C cooled faster than all of the others
This question is checking to see if you understand about temperature gradients.The difference in temperature and the surroundings is called the temperature gradient - the greater the difference, the greater the gradient and the faster the cooling
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Changes in energy stores - AQA

Author:  Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)

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