Energy Transfers (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)

Revision Note

Energy Transfers

What is a system?

  • In Physics, a system is defined as

An object or group of objects

  • Defining the system in physics is a way of narrowing the parameters of the situation to focus only on what is relevant to the situation being observed

  • When a system is in equilibrium, nothing changes and so nothing happens

  • When there is a change in a system, things happen, and when things happen energy is transferred

  • An apple sitting on a table can be defined as a system

  • If the table is removed, the apple will fall

  • As the apple falls, energy is transferred

Apple-table system

apple-table-system for IGCSE & GCSE Physics revision notes
The apple on the table is in equilibrium, nothing changes so nothing happens. But a change is made to the system by removing the table, the apple will fall and energy is transferred

Energy stores

  • In a closed system, the total amount of energy is constant

  • There are many different energy stores that objects can have, these are shown in the table below:

Table of Energy Stores

Energy store

Description

Kinetic

Moving objects have energy in their kinetic store

Gravitational potential

Objects gain energy in their gravitational potential store when they are raised through a gravitational field

Elastic potential

Objects have energy in their elastic potential store if they are squashed, stretched or bent

Electrostatic

Objects with charge (like protons and electrons) have energy in their electrostatic store when they interact with one another

Magnetic

Magnetic materials interacting with one another have energy in their magnetic stores

Chemical

Chemical reactions transfer energy into or away from a substance's chemical store

Nuclear

Atomic nuclei release energy from their nuclear store during nuclear reactions

Thermal

All objects have energy in their thermal store, the hotter the object, the more energy it has in this store

Energy transfer pathways

  • Energy is transferred between stores via energy transfer pathways

  • There are 4 different transfer pathways shown in the table below:

Table of Energy Transfer Pathways

Transfer Pathway

Description

Mechanical working

A force acts over a distance (e.g. pulling, pushing, stretching, squashing)

Electrical working

A charge moves through a potential difference (e.g. current)

Heating (by particles)

Energy is transferred from a hotter object to a colder one (e.g. conduction)

(Heating by) radiation

Energy is transferred by electromagnetic radiation (e.g. visible light)

Worked Example

Describe the energy transfers in the following scenarios:

a) A battery powering a torch

b) A ball falling

 Answer:

Part a)

Step 1: Determine the store that energy is being transferred away from, within the parameters of the defined system 

  • For a battery powering a torch

  • The system is defined as the battery and the torch

  • So the energy transfer to focus on is from the battery to the bulb

  • Therefore, the energy begins in the chemical store of the cells of the battery

Step 2: Determine the store that energy is transferred to 

  • When the circuit is closed, the bulb lights up

  • Therefore, energy is transferred to the thermal store of the bulb

  • Energy is then transferred from the bulb to the surroundings, but this is not described in the parameters of the system

Step 3: Determine the transfer pathway

  • Energy is transferred by the flow of charge around the circuit

  • Therefore, the transfer pathway is electrical

  • Energy is transferred electrically from the chemical store of the battery to the thermal store of the bulb

Part b)

Step 1: Determine the store that energy is being transferred away from, within the parameters of the defined system 

  • For a ball falling, the system is defined as the ball

  • To fall, the ball must have been raised to a height

  • Therefore, it began with energy in its gravitational potential store

Step 2: Determine the store that energy is transferred to

  • As the ball falls, it is moving

  • Therefore, energy is being transferred to its kinetic store

Step 3: Determine the transfer pathway

  • For an object to fall, a resultant force must be acting on it, that force is weight and it acts over a distance (the height of the fall)

  • Therefore, this is a mechanical transfer pathway

  • Energy is transferred mechanically from the gravitational potential store of the ball to the kinetic store of the ball

Examiner Tip

Don't worry too much about the parameters of the system. They exist to help you keep your answers concise so you don't waste time in your exam. 

If you follow any process backwards, you will identify lots of the energy transfers taking place. An electric kettle heating water, for example. The relevant energy transfer is from the thermal store of the kettle to the thermal store of the water, with some energy dissipated to the surroundings. You could take it back further to the point of electricity generation. This is beyond the scope of the question. Defining the system gives you a starting and a stopping point for the energy transfers you need to consider.

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