PLAN 4

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

Phy1 - WORK
In physics, ‘work’ is related to the particular situation where a force causes an object to move. It
allows us to calculate a number - this is important when comparing different situations.

Learning objectives
✓ Relate (without calculation) work done to the magnitude of a force and the distance
moved in the direction of the force.
✓ Recall and use W = F x d = ΔE

WORK
Work is done when the application of a force results in movement. The amount of work done
depends on the magnitude of the force and the distance moved in the direction of the force.
Work can only be done when the object or system has energy. When work is done, energy is
transferred.
Work done is equal to the amount of energy transferred. It can be calculated using the following
formula:
Work done = force x distance moved in the direction of the force = energy transferred
W=Fxd=E
Where:
W = work done in joules (J)
F = force in Newtons (N)
d = distance moved in the direction of the force in metres (m)
E = energy transferred in joules (J)
1 Joule of energy (or work) will move a weight of 1 newton a distance of 1 metre.

WORKED EXAMPLES
1. A cyclist pedals along a flat road. He exerts a force of 60N on the road surface and
travels 150m. Calculate the work done by the cyclist.
Write down the formula: W = F x d
Substitute the values for F and d: W = 60 x 150
Work out the answer and write down the unit: W = 9000J
2. A person does 3000J of work in pushing a supermarket trolley 50m across a lever car
park. What force was the person exerting on the trolley?
Write down the formula with F as the subject: F = W/d
Substitute the values for W and d: F = 3000/50
Work out the answer and write down the unit: F = 60N

When something slows down because of friction, work is done. The kinetic energy of the motion
is transferred to heat as the frictional forces slow the object down. For example, if you are riding
your bike and you brake, the energy from your motion is converted to heat in the brake blocks.
QUESTIONS
1. Calculate the work done when a 50N force moves an object 5m.
2. Calculate the force required to move an object 8m by transferring 4000J of energy.
3. Calculate the work done when a force of 40N moves a block 2m.
4. How far does an object move when the force on it is 6N and the work done is 300J?
5. What force is needed to move a piano a distance of 2m when the work done is 800J?
6. The Space Shuttle uses friction to do work on its motion upon re-entry into Earth’s
atmosphere.
The Shuttle has 8.45x1012J of energy to transfer over an 8000km flight path. What force
is applied by the atmosphere?
7. Use the internet or books to research the Shuttle landing and answer the following
questions:
a) What happens to the transferred energy?
b) What temperatures are generated by the work being done, and how does this
relate to the material used for the underside of the shuttle surface, such as why is
it not made from aluminium or iron?
8. 50000J of work are done as a crane lifts a load of 400kg. How far did the crane lift the
load? (Gravitational field strength, g, is 10N/kg)
9. Use the relationship between the work done, force and distance to complete the table.

Work done /J Force /N Distance /m

100 2

750 375

9000 120

450 200

3000 30

60000 150

10. Juanma and Maria went up the hill. Juanma’s weight is 500N and Maria’s weight is
450N. Who did the most work?
11. Explain why, however long you have been sitting writing, you have hardly done any work
at all.

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Phy2 - Energy
The study of energy, how it moves about, what it does when it is transferred, is at the heart of
physics. Energy is that 'stuff' that allows things to happen. But what actually is 'energy?
Energy is surprisingly hard to pin down. We have an intuitive 'feel' that when we have lots of
energy, we can get lots of things done. When we are feeling 'drained' of energy, then it is much
harder.
Being able to track where the energy is moving, in all its 'disguises', is a key skill that will help
you explain many aspects of physics.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
✓ Demonstrate understanding that work done = energy transferred.
✓ Demonstrate understanding that an object may have energy due to its motion (kinetic energy) or its
position (potential energy) and that energy may be transferred and stored.
✓Identify changes in kinetic, gravitational potential, chemical, elastic (strain), nuclear and internal energy
that have occurred as a result of an event or process.
✓Recognise that energy is transferred during events and processes, including examples of transfer by
forces (mechanical working), by electrical currents (electrical ), by heating and by waves.
✓Apply the principle of conservation of energy to simple examples.
✓ Recall and use the expressions kinetic energy = ½mv2 and change in gravitational energy =
mgh.

ENERGY
A car will not move without using fuel. At present this fuel could be petrol, alcohol, diesel fuel or
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In the past the fuel could, just possibly, have been coal; and in
the future it could be hydrogen, or electricity stored in a battery. However, whatever fuel you
use, you are buying something with the ability to make that car move. This stored ability is
known as potential energy.
A clock needs energy to make the hands move, and this energy can be stored in a spring that
you wind up with a key, in an electrical battery, or in weights that are raised up.
Potential energy is stored or hidden energy. In this context 'potential´ means ´containing power'.
When a spring is stretched or compressed, the spring will have elastic potential energy.
When a load is raised above the ground, it will have gravitational potential energy.
Gravitational potential energy is energy due to an object's position.
If the spring is released or the load moves back to the ground, the stored potential energy is
transferred to movement energy, which is called kinetic energy.

Potential energy can be used to make an object move, and so give it kinetic energy. Kinetic
energy can also be transferred into potential energy, and this can be seen most clearly in the
action of a pendulum, where at each end of its swing (at A and C in Fig2.9) the pendulum has a
maximum amount of gravitational potential energy, and at the middle of its swing (at B) some of
the potential energy has been transferred into kinetic energy (the pendulum is moving fastest),
as shown in Fig. 2.9.
 ▲ Fig2.9 Energy changes in the swing of a pendulum.
REMEMBER
An object gains gravitational potential energy as it gains height. Work has to be done to
increase the height of the object above the ground. Therefore: gain in gravitational potential
energy of an object = work done on that object against gravity.

Delta notation
We use the Greek letter 𝜟 (delta) to stand for 'the change in'. For example, 𝜟h means the
change in the height. When you are using 𝜟h in an equation, treat it as one symbol meaning
´the change in energy'; don't separate them.

You can use the expression p.e= mg𝜟h to calculate the amount of potential energy an object
hasIn this expression, m is its mass, g is acceleration due to gravity (usually taken as 10 m/s2)
and h is its height above the ground (zero level).

WORKED EXAMPLE
A skier has a mass of 70 kg and travels up in a ski lift that has a vertical height of 300 m.
Calculate the change in the skier's gravitational potential energy.
Write down the formula: p.e. = mxgx𝜟h
Substitute values for m, g and h: p.e= 70 x 10 x 300
Work out the answer and write down the unit: p.e.= 210000J or 210kJ

WORKED EXAMPLE
An ice skater has a mass of 50 kg and travels at a speed of 5 m/s. Calculate the ice skater's
kinetic energy.
You can use the expression k.e.= 1/2mv² to calculate the amount of potential energy an object
has. In this expression, m is its mass and v is its velocity.
Write down the formula: k.e.= 1/2mv²
Substitute the values for m and v: k.e.= ½ x 50 x 5 x 5
Work out the answer and write down the unit: k.e= 625 J
QUESTIONS
1. Calculate the gravitational potential energy gained when a 5kg mass is lifted 2m.
2. Calculate the kinetic energy of a 2kg ball rolling at 2 m/s.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF ENERGY

As shown by the pendulum, energy can either be stored or can be seen as a form of motion.
The different types of stored energy are all forms of potential energy. Here are some important
examples:
● Gravitational potential energy: This is energy stored by an object that has been raised up
in a gravitational field, for example, a ball at the top of a hill
● Elastic (strain) energy: The word strainmeans stretched. 'Strain energy' can be stored in
springs (in clocks, for example) and in bows when they are drawn back before the arrow
is released.
● Chemical energy: The energy stored in fuels, such as petrol and diesel, is usually called
´chemical energy'. In any object, the atoms are held together by forces that are called
bonds. These bonds behave like springsIn some materials, such as fuels and
explosives, the bonds are forced to be shorter or longer than they wish. This stores
energy in the bonds that can be transferred by breaking up the structure of the fuel or
the explosive.
A battery is ready to turn chemical energy into 'electrical energy', and a rechargeable
battery is so called because every time that it is discharged it can be recharged by
forcing electricity through it backwards. The electrical energy' that is transferred is stored
as chemical energy'.
● Nuclear energy: The energy in a nucleus of an atom is stored in the extremely strong
bonds between the particles of which the nucleus is made. Some of this energy can be
released, in the case of uranium (and some other metals) by splitting the nucleus of the
atom into two smaller nuclei. This can be done either slowly and for good purposes in a
nuclear power station, or very rapidly in an atomic bomb.

▲ Fig2.10 Splitting a nucleus can release a lot of energy.

Forms of kinetic energy
Here are some other important types of energy. They are actually all different sorts of kinetic
energy, but this is far from obvious in some cases:
When people just use the words 'kinetic energy', they are referring to the energy of a visible
moving object with k.e. = 1/2mv².

▲ Fig. 2.11 The atoms in a hot object vibrate more because they have more energy.

● Internal energy (heat): This is contained within an object and makes the difference
between the object being hot or cold. A hot object contains atoms that are moving fast or
vibrating strongly.

▲ Fig2.12 Electrical energy in a wire.

● Electrical energy: Electrical currents carry electrical energy from one place to another.
Electrical energy can easily be turned into kinetic energy in a motor or internal energy in
a resistor, perhaps used as a heater.
● Light energy: A light wave carries light energy as it travels, and this will be turned into
internal energy in most objects when it strikes them. If the light hits a solar panel it can
be made to generate electrical energy.
● Sound waves: These carry a very small amount of energy from the source of the noise.
The source vibrates, setting air particles around it into vibration. These vibrations are
passed through the air as a longitudinal wave. When the wave reaches the ear it sets
 the eardrum into vibration. (Do not confuse the 2000 W of electricity consumed by a
band performing on stage with the 100 W of sound being emitted by the loudspeakers.
The ear is extremely good at detecting sound.)

▲ Fig2.13 A solar cell transfers light energy into electrical energy.

TRANSFER OF ENERGY
Any type of energy can be transferred into any other type of energy. In some cases, this transfer
can be done efficiently, such as between kinetic energy and electrical energyIn other cases, the
transfer is inefficient.
In every case of transfer of energy, some of the energy is converted to internal energy. A light
bulb transfers electrical energy to light energy but also gets hot; an electric motor transfers
electrical energy to kinetic energy but also gets hot; a diesel engine transfers chemical energy
to kinetic energy but also gets hot; a battery that is being charged gets hot. Even a pendulum
eventually stops swinging because the movement of the pendulum through the air heats up the
air due to resistance.

SCIENCE IN CONTEXT - ENERGY AND THE EARTH

Energy and matter are constantly interacting on our planetPart of this interaction produces
volcanoes, glaciers, mountain ranges, oceans and continents. The energy comes from two
sources, energy from the Sun, which keeps the oceans and the atmospheric cycles (such as the
water cycle) going; and the internal energy, which comes from radioactive decay in the Earth's
core and is the driving force behind plate tectonics.
The amount of energy that moves through the system is huge: it is of the order of 1.74 x 10 17W.
Most of this comes from the SunFigure 2.14 shows the energy transfers that take place in the
Earth's system.
 ▲ Fig. 2.14 Energy flows in the Earth.

QUESTIONS
1. Describe the energy changes that take place as a pendulum swings from one side to the
other.
2. Where can elastic strain energy be found?
3. What is the source of chemical energy?

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
The law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Often the
words 'conversion' and 'conservation' are misused.
Energy conversion is transferring one form of energy to another (such as electrical to light in a
light bulb). In another example, a tram takes electrical energy and converts it mainly into kinetic
energy, but also into internal energy and sound. Likewise, as a pendulum swings, some of its
energy is transferred between kinetic and gravitational potential energy: but when you add up its
total energy, you will find that the total stays almost the same. The movements of the pendulum
slowly die away as energy is transferred to the air in the room and the air heats up slightly.

REMEMBER
You may need to describe how energy is transferred in different situations, but remember that
total energy is always conserved: the energy at the start and at the end must have the same
total value. So, you must account for all of the energy converted, and that includes the energy
that will have been transferred as internal energy, as well perhaps as light or sound. For
example, the amount of electrical energy that is put into a light bulb will all come out of the light
bulb in the form of light (useful output) and some internal energy (heat), which is wasted output.

You can use the principle of the conservation of energy to calculate what happens when kinetic
energy and potential energy are converted from either one to the other.

So long as negligible energy is lost in the conversion, mgh = 1/2mv².

QUESTIONS
1. State the law of conservation of energy.
2. Describe the energy transfers that take place in a light bulb.
3. Consider a tram.
a) What form of energy is its input?
b) What form of energy is its useful output?
c) What form of energy is its 'wasteoutput?

WORKED EXAMPLE
A stone is thrown vertically upward and reaches a height of 6 m above the hand of the thrower.
What speed was the stone travelling at when it left the person's hand?
The decrease in k.e. of the stone as it rises = the increase in the p.e. of the stone.
As the final k.eof the stone = 0, the initial k.eof the stone = the increase in the p.e. of the stone
at the top of its flight.
Write down the formula: ½mv2 = mgh
1/2v² = gh
Note that the mass has cancelled out; the mass does not matter in this case.
Substitute values for g and h: v² = gh x 2 = 10 × 6 × 2 = 120
Work out the answer and write down the unit: v=raiz(120) = 10.95 m/2
 ▲ Fig2.15 The path of a stone when it is thrown

REMEMBER
Note that in this worked example, the answer has been given to four significant figures. In most
physics examples at this level, you should remember to use three or four significant figures, not
the 10 or more digits that your calculator might give! You may be penalised in an exam if you
give too many.

The kinetic energy given to the stone when it is thrown is transferred to potential energy as it
gains height and slows downAt the top of its flight a large part of the kinetic energy will have
been converted into gravitational potential energy. A small amount of energy will have been lost
due to friction between the stone and the air.

REMEMBER
As a skier skis down a mountain the loss in potential energy should equal the gain in kinetic
energy (assuming no other energy transfers take place, as a result of friction, for example).
Calculations can then be performed using: loss in p.e. = gain in k.e. (mgh = 1/2mv²).

SCIENCE LINK
BIOLOGY - LIFE PROCESSES, ECOSYSTEMS
● Ideas about energy transfer allow us to describe the central purpose of life processes
such as respiration and photosynthesis.
 ● The law of conservation of energy - that the total energy present at any stage is always
the same - allows us to explain the relationships behind food chains and the number of
organisms an ecosystem is able to support.

CHEMISTRY - ENERGY IN CHEMICAL REACTIONS

● Energy is conserved in all chemical reactions. Calculating the energies involved in bond-
making and bond-breaking leads to an overall figure deciding whether any particular
reaction will release energy (an exothermic reaction) or require energy to be input (an
endothermic reaction).

End of topic questions

1. A student is carrying out a personal fitness test. She steps on and off the ´step' 200 times.
She transfers 30J of energy each time she steps up. Calculate the energy transferred during the
test.
2. A child of mass 35 kg climbed a 30 m high snow-covered hill
a) Calculate the change in the child's potential gravitational energy.
b) The child then climbed onto a lightweight sledge and slid down the hill. Calculate the child's
maximum speed at the bottom of the hill. (Ignore the mass of the sledge)
c) Explain why the actual speed at the bottom of the hill is likely to be less than the value
calculated in part b).
3. Calculate the potential energy of a piano of mass 300 kg lifted through a vertical height of 9
m.
4. Calculate the height climbed up a ladder when the person's mass is 70 kg and the
gravitational potential energy gained is 2800 J.
5. A 1500 kg helicopter gains potential energy of 1.35 MJ in climbing from the ground. Calculate
its height.
6. Use the relationship between kinetic energy, mass and velocity to complete the table.

Kinetic energy /J Mass /kg Speed / m/s

84 9

196 1.4

50 1

950 13
 62500 250

6000 3000

7. What is the kinetic energy of a bird of mass 200 g flying at 6 m/s?

8. What is the speed of a car of mass 1500 kg with a kinetic energy of 450 kJ?
9. a) A skateboarder of mass 60 kg is 3.15 m above ground level travelling at 1 m/s. What is his
kinetic energy?
b) What is the gravitational potential energy of the skateboarder in part a)?
c) What is the total energy (kinetic + gravitational) of the skateboarder in parts a) and b)?
d) Assuming that no energy is lost in the descent, show that the skateboarder is travelling at
about 8 m/s on reaching ground level after the descent down the 3.15 m slope.
10. A man pushes a wheelbarrow up a 5 m long ramp onto a surface 1.6 m higher than his
starting level. The weight of the barrow is 300 N.
a) How much work has been done in raising the barrow 1.6m?
b) The force he needed to push the barrow along the ramp is 100 N. How much work did he do?
c) Why are the numbers in parts a) and b) different?
d) Why are ramps useful?

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Phy3 - Power
There are many situations where it is important to know how quickly energy is being transferred
- a kettle is no use if it takes 5 hours to deliver the energy to heat some water. For this we need
to introduce the concept of power.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
✔Relate (without calculation) power to work done and time taken, using appropriate examples.
✓ Recall and use the equation P= 𝜟E/t in simple systems

POWER
A powerful engine in a car can take you up a road to the top of a mountain more quickly than a
less-powerful engine. Both engines can do the same amount of work, given enough time, but
the powerful engine can do the work more quicklyIn the same way, a powerful electric motor on
a cooling fan will move the air in the room more quickly; and a 'powerfully built athlete will, by
transferring more kinetic energy to it as it is launched, throw a javelin further.

Power is defined as the rate of doing work or the rate of transferring energy. The more powerful
a machine is, the quicker it does a fixed amount of work or transfers a fixed amount of energy.
Since power is the rate of doing work or the rate of transferring energy, power can be calculated
using the formula: power = work done/time taken = energy transferred/time taken
P = W/t or P = 𝜟E/t
Where P = power in joules per second or watts (W)
𝜟E = energy transferred in joules (J)
W = work done in joules (J)
T = time taken in seconds (s)
1 watt of power is 1 joule of work being done every second

▲ Fig2.17 The equation triangle for work done, power and time. You can use this triangle to
help you rearrange the formula.

WORKED EXAMPLES
1. A crane lifts a 100 kg girder for a skyscraper by 20 m in 40s. Hence it does 20000J of
work in 40s. Calculate its power over this time. Note: this calculation tells you the power
of the electric motor that the crane needs.
Write down the formula: P = W/t
Substitute the values for W and t: P=20000/40
Work out the answer and write down the unit: P = 500 W
2. A student with a weight of 600 N runs up the flight of stairs, a distance of 5 m, shown in
the diagram (right) in 6sCalculate the student's power.
Write down the formula for work done: W = Fd
Substitute the values for F and d: W = 600 x 5 = 3000]
Write down the formula for power: P = W/t
Substitute the values for W and 1P = 3000/6
Work out the answer and write down the unit: P= 500 W
 ▲ Fig2.18 A student running up a flight of stairs.
REMEMBER
The student is lifting his body against the force of gravity, which acts in a vertical direction. The
distance measured must be in the direction of the force (that is, the vertical height).

QUESTIONS
1. A man (70 kg) and a boy (35 kg) run up a set of stairs in the same time. Explain why the man
is twice as powerful.
2. When a machine is called ´powerful', what does it mean?
3. What is the unit of power?
4. Calculate the power of a motor that transfers 1200Jnof energy every 5s.
5. a) A crane lifts a mass of 60 kg to a height of 5m. How much work does it do?
b) The crane takes 1 minute to do this. Calculate the power of the crane.

End of topic questions

1. Peter and Paul walk home from school together up a hill. Peter is heavier than Paul.
a) Who does more work?
b) Who produces more power?
2. A crane takes 10s to lift a load of 5000 N a distance of 20 What is its power?
3. Calculate the work done by a 75 kW tractor in 20 s.

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Phy4 - Energy resources
Our everyday lives depend on energy being transferred to us so that we can then ´use it' to
power our modern society. But where does the energy come from?
The original source of almost all our energy is nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun. This energy
has either been locked away over millions of years in non-renewable resources, such as coal or
drives renewable energy resources such as the wind.
This topic looks at the energy resources we use in more detail.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
✓ Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.
✓ Describe how electricity or other useful forms of energy may be obtained from:
- chemical energy stored in fuel
- water, including the energy stored in waves, in tides, and in water behind hydroelectric dams
- geothermal resources
- nuclear fission
- heat and light from the Sun (solar cells and panels)
- wind
✓ Understand that the Sun is the source of energy for all our energy resources except geothermal, nuclear
and tidal.
✓ Understand that the source of tidal energy is mainly the Moon.
✓ Give advantages and disadvantages of each method in terms of renewability, cost, reliability, scale and
environmental impact.
✓ Show an understanding that energy is released by nuclear fusion in the Sun.

ENERGY RESOURCES
Fossil fuels
Most of the energy we use is obtained from fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas.
▲ Fig2.20 How a power station works. The most common fuels used in power stations are coal,
oil and gas.

Many power stations use fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) to produce electricity that is supplied
to homes and factories. Other power stations burn alternative fuels to produce this electricity,
but the basic method of producing power is generally the same:
● Fuel is burned and steam is produced in a boiler.
● The steam turns a turbine.
● The turbine drives a generator.
● The generator produces electricity.
● The electricity is supplied to homes and industry.

Once supplies of fossil fuels have been used up they cannot be replaced they are non-
renewable. At current levels of use, oil and gas supplies will probably last for about another 40
years, and coal supplies for no more than a few hundred years from now. The development of
renewable sources of energy is therefore becoming increasingly important.

Wind power
The wind is used to windmill-like turbines that generate electricity directly from the rotating
motion of their blades. Modern wind turbines are efficient, but it takes about one thousand of
them to produce the same amount of energy as a modern gas, coal or oil-burning power station,
and that is only when the wind is blowing favourably.

Developing investigative skills

You are going to plan an investigation to evaluate wind power as an energy source. You have
the following equipment:
● model wind turbine
● multimeter to measure the voltage generated
● anemometer to measure wind speed
● hairdryer to generate wind power (note: set hairdryer setting to cold)
● metre rule to measure distance.

Using and organising techniques, apparatus and materials

1. Plan your experiment, describing clearly the following:
a) the aim of your investigation
b) what you will measure c) the number and range of readings that you will take
d) the independent variable
e) the dependent variable
f) the control variables g) how you will make your experiment a fair test
2. Draw out a results table that you would use in your investigation

Planning and evaluating investigations

3. Write an evaluation identifying aspects of your experiment where modifications are
possible.

Dams can be used to store water, which is allowed to fall in a controlled way that generates
electricity. This is particularly useful in hilly regions for generating hydroelectric power. When
demand for electricity is low, surplus electricity can be used to pump water back up into the high
dam for use in times of high demand.
 ▲ Fig2.22 A pumped storage hydroelectric power station.

Solar power
Solar cells can be used to convert light energy from the Sun directly into electricity. This
electricity can be stored, often in batteries, to be used when convenient. Electricity generated in
this way uses a renewable source. These panels are commonly referred to as solar PV
(photovoltaic) panels to distinguish them from solar heating panels.
In solar panels, the energy from the Sun is used simply to heat water that is pumped through
black pipes in a panel, often on the roof of a house. Heating the water in this way reduces the
demand on other energy resources. Again, the energy can be stored in the water for later use.

REMEMBER
Make sure you don't confuse the two systems for using the Sun's energy. One heats water; the
other generates electricity.

Solar power is energy from the Sun, which itself is powered by nuclear fusion reactions (where
the small nuclei of hydrogen atoms join to make larger nuclei that are, in fact, helium) and an
enormous amount of energy is released.
Although there have been several attempts to reproduce this continuous release of energy on
Earth, so far they have been unsuccessfulThe Sun is the source of energy for all our energy
resources except geothermal, nuclear and tidal

Geothermal power
Geothermal power is obtained using the heat of the Earth. In certain parts of the world, water
forms hot springs that can be used directly for heating, can also be pumped deep into the
ground to be heated.

Nuclear fission
A nuclear power station uses the heat generated by a controlled fission process to convert
water to steam. This drives a turbine as in a conventional power station. However, a typical
power plant produces 20 metric tonnes of waste per year. People disagree over whether this
radioactive waste is more hazardous than the gasses emitted by coal- fired power stations.

Water power
The motion of waves can be used to move large floats and generate electricity. A very large
number of floats are needed to produce a significant amount of electricity.

Dams on tidal estuaries trap the water at high tide. When the water is allowed to flow back at
low tide, tidal power can be generated. This obviously limits the use of the estuary for shipping
and can cause environmental damage along the shoreline.

The River Severn Barrage is a proposed project to build a huge dam on the estuary of the River
Severn in the UK. The project is expected to cost around $20 billion and, if completed, will
produce a clean, sustainable source of electricity for the next 120 years.

In the area behind the dam are huge areas of mud that are exposed at low tide. These mud flats
contain many small animals and are a significant source of food for many species of birds. If the
dam is built, these mud flats could be disrupted and it may not be easy for the birds to feed on
the small animals in the mud.

Imagine that you are called as an expert witness as part of an environmental group to evaluate
the benefits, disadvantages and environmental impact of constructing the barrage. Write a
report in preparation for a press release. It should be approximately 200 words long.

QUESTIONS
1. What energy transfers take place in a solar cell?
2. What energy transfers take place in a wind turbine?
3. Describe the process used to generate electricity in fossil-fuelled power stations.
4. How is electricity produced from geothermal sources?

End of topic questions

1. a) What is meant by a non-renewable energy resource?
b) Name three non-renewable energy sources.
c) Which non-renewable energy source is likely to last the longest?
2. Draw up a table to compare renewable energy resources and non-renewables. Add columns
to your table to describe at least one advantage and one disadvantage for each energy
resource when it is used to provide large-scale electricity production.
3. Compare the effects on the environment of coal-fired power stations and nuclear power
stations.
a) Which of these power stations releases greenhouse gasses?
b) Which of the fuels used in these power stations will run out first?
4. Power stations need to be located on suitable sites. Write down three factors that a company
may consider before choosing a site for a coal-fired power station.