PHYSICS

TOPIC 1 : ENERGY
CONSERVATION OF
ENERGY AND
POWER
Conservation of Energy
In any energy change there is ALWAYS some “waste” energy:
e.g. a light bulb:
Electricity Light + heat

In this example HEAT is wasted and it is transferred to

the surroundings, becoming very difficult to use.

Describe the following energy changes and state the “waste”

energy or energies:
1) A vacuum cleaner
2) A TV
3) A dynamo/generator
 Conservation of Energy
• Conservation of energy principle states that energy is always
conserved
• When the energy is transferred between stores, not all of
the energy is transferred usually into the store that you
want it to go. Some energy is always dissipated

• Dissipated energy is also called wasted energy because

energy is stored in a way that is not useful.

What can be the examples?

Conservation of Energy -
Examples
Conservation of Energy -
Examples
 POWER IS RATE OF DOING
WORK
• Power is rate of energy transfer or doing work
• Power is measured in watts
• You can calculate power using these equations

• A powerful machine is not necessarily one which exert a

strong force (although it usually ends up that way)
Energy and Power
The POWER RATING of an appliance is defined as “the rate
of doing work” or “the rate of transferring energy” and is
measured in Watts.
In other words, 1 Watt = 1 Joule per second

Power = work done or energy

time
W
W = Work done (in joules)
P = Power (in watts)
P T
T = Time (in seconds)

24/01/2024
You need to learn this equation!!
Some example questions
1) What is the power rating of a light bulb that transfers
60W
120 joules of energy in 2 seconds?
2) What is the power of an electric fire that transfers
10,000J of energy in 5 seconds? 2KW

3) Georgia runs up the stairs in 5 seconds. If she transfers

1,000,000J of energy in this time what is her power 0.2MW
rating?
4) How much energy does a 150W light bulb transfer in a) 150J,
one second, b) one minute? 9KJ
5) Brad’s brain needs energy supplied to it at a rate of 40W.
How much energy does it need during a 50 minute (3000 120KJ
second) physics lesson?
6) Gabriel’s brain, being more intelligent, only needs energy
at a rate of about 20W. How much energy would his brain
use in a normal day? 1.73MJ
24/01/2024
Some example questions

160W

24/01/2024
 CONDUCTION,
CONVECTION &
RADIATIION
 Conduction, Convection & Radiation
• 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
• It occurs in solids. It is the process where vibrating particles transfer
energy
• A conductor is a material that allows internal (thermal) energy to be
transmitted through it easily
• Energy transferred to an object by heating is transferred to thermal
store of the object.
 Conduction, Convection & Radiation
• Example
• All metals are good conductors. When one end of a metal rod is put into
a fire, the energy from the flame makes the ions in the rod vibrate
faster.
• Energy is passed on through the metal by these collisions, transmitting
the energy. More frequent collisions increase the rate of transfer.

What is an insulator?
 Conduction, Convection & Radiation
• 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.
Why houses are insulated?

When trying to keep houses warm, the

choice is between materials that are poor
conductors such as brick, wood, plastic
and glass. A house built of conducting
materials like copper would be very cold
to live in as energy would be able to leave
the house easily.
•
Conduction,
Convection
Convection & Radiation
• It can happen in gases and liquids. Energy is transferred by heating
thermal store of liquid or gas.
• Unlike in solids , particles in solids and liquids are able to move
• When you heat a region, particles move faster and space between
individual particles increases. This causes density of region to decrease
• Because liquids and gases can flow, the warmer and less dense region
will rise above denser, cooler regions
•
Conduction,
Radiation
Convection & Radiation
• Both conduction and convection transfer energy due to the movement
of particles.
• Light and infrared radiation travel from the Sun to Earth,
through space. Space is a vacuum, which means that
there are no particles there.
• Radiation does not need particles
to transfer energy. Light and
infrared radiation travel
as waves.
Conduction, Convection or Radiation ?

The transfer of The transfer of

energy through energy from the
the base of the Sun to the ice lolly.
metal pan.

conduction radiation

The transfer of energy The transfer of energy

through the air in the from the Earth’s core
hot-air balloon. to its surface.

conduction convection
Conduction, Convection or Radiation ?
The transfer of energy The transfer of energy
from the flame to the from the soup to the
food in the oven. metal spoon.

convection conduction

The transfer of energy from the The transfer of energy

bonfire to the spectators. from the heating
element to the bread.
radiation
radiation
Conduction, Convection or Radiation ?
The transfer of energy The transfer of
from the hot-water energy through the
bottle to the bed. water in the kettle.

conduction convection

The transfer of energy The transfer of energy

from the cup to the from the heater to the
person’s hands. person’s hands.

conduction radiation
 REDUCING
UNWANTED ENERGY
TRANSFERS
 LUBRICATION
• Whenever something moves, at least one frictional force is acting against it
• For objects that are rubbed together , lubricants can reduce friction
between objects surfaces. Lubricants are usually like oil so they can flow
easily
 INSULATION

• While making houses, our aim is to prevent escape of energy from the house
• Some of the steps which can be takento prevent energy loss can be :
• Have thick walls with low thermal conductivity materials
• The thicker the walls, the lower their thermal conductivity, the slower the rate of
energy transfer will be.
• Use thermal insulation . Examples ahead
INSULATION
EFFICIENCY
Efficiency
Efficiency is a measure of how much USEFUL energy you
get out of an object from the energy you put INTO it.
For example, consider a TV:
(80J )
Light
Electrical
Energy (200J) Sound (40J)

Heat (
?)

Efficiency = Useful energy out You need to learn

x100% this equation!!
Energy in
24/01/2024
 Efficiency
Useful devices are only useful because they can transfer
energy from one store to other
The less energy is wasted , more efficient device can be
How to improve efficiency
Insulation
Lubrication
Streamlining
So the formulas to remember are
Some examples of efficiency…
1) 5000J of electrical energy are put into a
motor. The motor converts this into 100J of 2%
movement energy. How efficient is it?

2) A laptop can convert 400J of electrical 60%, given

energy into 240J of light and sound. What is out to the
its efficiency? Where does the rest of the surroundings
energy go? as heat

3) A steam engine is 50% efficient. If it

delivers 20,000J of movement energy how 40,000J
much chemical energy was put into it?

24/01/2024
Useful Energy Input isn’t Equal
to Total Energy Output
FORMULA
SHEET