Year 10 physics independent study homework

You are to use independent study skills to learn about Electricity in the home. Your
homework is to learn about this topic by working through the booklet. We will not teach
this content in class, so it is vital you complete this homework to the best of your ability.
This homework should take around one and a half hours.
For each section carefully read the information, then attempt the questions using what you
have read. For some questions you may need to refer to the textbooks and other revision
resources (this is similar to the way you will learn during A-levels and university!).

Topic 1: Mains electricity

Direct current (d.c.) only flows in one direction.

Alternating current (a.c.) constantly changes direction.

Mains electricity is an a.c. supply. In the UK it is about 230 V and it

has a frequency of 50 Hz.

Most electrical appliances are connected to the mains using a cable

and a three-pin plug.

Three pins stick out through the

plug case the live pin, the neutral
pin and the earth pin.

The pins are made of brass. The plug contains a fuse between the
live pin and the live wire.

Each pin is connected to a wire:

• The live wire (brown) carries the a.c. from the supply
and is dangerous.

• The neutral wire (blue) completes the circuit and is

usually set at 0V. It is still dangerous as a.c. flows
through it.

• The Earth wire (green and yellow) is a safety wire and it

is set at 0V. It doesn’t normally carry current, but if
there is a fault, the a.c. flows from live to Earth.

The fuse melts and breaks the circuit if a fault in an

appliance causes too much current flow. Circuit breakers also break the circuit
when the current is too high, but are resettable by a switch.
Task: Complete in your exercise book
Basic
1. a) How does alternating current differ to direct current?
b) What is the frequency of the a.c. mains electricity supply in the UK?
c) What is the voltage of UK mains electricity?
2. What are the names and colours of the three pins in a plug?
3. a) Why are pins in a plug made of brass?
b) Why is the outer casing of a plug made of plastic?
4. a) What is the purpose of a fuse?
b) What causes a fuse to break the circuit?
c) Give one advantage of a circuit breaker over a fuse?

Medium
5. The diagram shows the inside of an incorrectly wired
three-pin plug.
a) What two changes need to be made so that the plug is wired correctly?
b) The fuse inside a plug is a safety device. Explain what
happens when too much current passes through a fuse.
c) Using the hairdryer in picture A is dangerous. However,
it is safe to use the battery-operated radio in picture B.
Explain why.
6. The diagram to the below shows someone accidentally
touching a live wire inside a dismantled 230 V mains
electricity socket.
a) The total resistance to current flow is 50 kΩ. Calculate
the current that will flow through the person. (Hint: you
need to use Ohm’s law and rearrange the equation).
b) Rubber is a good insulator. Explain why it is a good idea
for electricians to wear rubber soled boots when working.

To go from kΩ to Ω → × 1000

Hard
7. A hairdryer designed to be used with the UK mains supply has a plastic cover. The cable connecting
the hairdryer to the plug does not have an Earth wire. Why does the hairdryer not need a cable
with an Earth wire?
8. An oscilloscope (this is a device used for measuring and showing voltage
over time) is connected to an alternating current (ac) supply. The
diagram shows the trace produced on the oscilloscope screen. Each
horizontal division on the oscilloscope screen represents 0.002 s.
Calculate the frequency of the alternating current supply. Hint:
frequency is a measure of how many cycles the current makes every
second.
Q1.
(a) Use numbers given in the box to complete the following sentences.

12 50 110 230

In the UK, the mains electricity supply is ________________________________ volts. The frequency of the UK
mains electricity supply is _______________________ hertz.
(2)

(b) The diagram shows a hairdryer designed to be used with

the UK mains supply. The cable connecting the hairdryer to the
plug does not have an earth wire.

(i) Why does the hairdryer not need a cable with an earth
wire?

_________________________________________
_________________________________________ (1)

(ii) Which one of the following materials are the two wires
inside the cable made from?

Draw a ring around your answer.

aluminium copper steel

(1)
(Total 4 marks)
Q2.
(a) The diagram below shows the three pins in a
mains plug. The pins connect with the live,
neutral and earth terminals in a socket.

On the diagram, label each pin to show which is:

the live pin, the neutral pin, the earth pin.
(3)

(b) The diagram to the left shows

the inside of a mains plug.

(i) Name one material which could be used for the part labelled X.
_________________________________________________________

(ii) Complete the sentences below.

The part labelled Y is called the ___________________________________ .

This is used to hold the _______________________________ firmly in place.

The component labelled Z is the ___________________________________ .

(iii) The plug is used with an electric fire.

Which part of the electric fire is connected to the earth pin?

______________________________________________________________
(5)
 Topic 2: National Grid
•
The national grid is made up of transformers and transmission cables.
Directly after a power
station is a step-up
transformer. This
increases the voltage but
decreases the current.
This reduces the energy
lost to heating in the
cables, making the
transmission of
electricity more efficient.
The cables are also low resistance to reduce energy lost to heating. Before
electricity is delivered to consumers it goes to a step down transformer which
reduces the voltage to a safe level for consumers. 230V is typically used for use
in homes and other buildings.

Mini task:

The figure below represents parts of the National Grid.

a) Match the parts 1–4 in the list below with the labels A–D in the figure.
1 Domestic user ____________

2 Power station ____________

3 Step-down transformer ____________

4 Step-up transformer ____________

b) Write the correct voltage from the list below in each box in the figure.
230 V 25 kV 132 kV
Main Task. The National Grid is a network of
cables, pylons and transformers that distributes
(‘shares out’) electrical energy across the UK.
The diagram shows a simplified model of the
National Grid system.
1. Which letter represents the power station?
__________
2. Which letters represent a pylon? ________
and ________
3. Which letter represents the cables of the
National Grid? ________
4. Which letter represents a house close to the
power station? ________
5. Which letter represents a house far away from the power station? ________
6. Bulb B is brighter than / the same brightness as / dimmer than bulb A.
7. This happens because energy is gained / remains constant / is lost as electric current travels through
the cable because of resistance.
8. The wasted / gained energy results in heating / cooling of the cables.
9. This system can be described as efficient / inefficient because some energy is wasted instead of being
transferred usefully.
10. Which Sankey Diagram best represents the energy transfer to bulb B in this model?

This diagram shows a more realistic

model of the National Grid system.
11. Name the two items that have been
added. ________________________
12. What is the letter of the step up
transformer? ________
13. What is the letter of the step down
transformer? ________
14. Bulb B is brighter than / has a similar
brightness to / dimmer than bulb A.
15. This indicates that more / less energy
is being wasted compared with the
simple model.
16. (a) This indicates that the system is more / less efficient than before.
(b) Which Sankey Diagram could show the energy transfer to Bulb B now?
17. The step up transformer increases / decreases the voltage of the power supply.
18. This results in the current being stepped down / stepped up.
19. The same amount of energy is being transferred as before: however, it is being transmitted as a high /
low voltage rather than a high / low current.
20. More / The same / Less energy is lost because the energy is carried as a large voltage rather than as a
large current.
21. The step down transformer increases / decreases the voltage to a safer level before it is used by the
consumer.

Q1.
The diagram shows how electricity is distributed from power stations to consumers.

(a) (i) What name is given to the network of cables and transformers that links power
stations to consumers?

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) What does a step-up transformer do?

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(iii) Explain why step-up transformers are used in the electricity distribution system.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) Most of the world’s electricity is generated in power stations that burn fossil fuels.

State one environmental problem that burning fossil fuels produces.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(1)
(c) Electricity can be generated using energy from the wind. A company wants to build a new
wind farm. Not everyone thinks that this is a good idea.

(i) What arguments could the company give to persuade people that a wind farm is a
good idea?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(ii) What reasons may be given by the people who think that wind farms are not a good
idea?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 9 marks)