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A student lifts a toy car from a bench and places the toy car at the top of a slope as shown in Figure 9 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 5 - 2020 - Paper 1
Question 5
A student lifts a toy car from a bench and places the toy car at the top of a slope as shown in Figure 9. (a) Describe an energy transfer that occurs when the stude... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student lifts a toy car from a bench and places the toy car at the top of a slope as shown in Figure 9 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 5 - 2020 - Paper 1
Step 1
Describe an energy transfer that occurs when the student lifts the toy car from the bench and places the toy car at the top of the slope.
Answer
When the student lifts the toy car from the bench, gravitational potential energy (GPE) is stored in the toy car. This energy is acquired due to the height gained against the gravitational force.
Step 2
Describe how the student could, by experiment, measure the speed of the toy car at the bottom of the slope.
Answer
To measure the speed of the toy car at the bottom of the slope, the student should measure the distance the car travels down the slope and the time it takes to reach the bottom. The average speed can be calculated using the formula:
For example, the student could set up a light gate at the bottom of the slope and record the time it takes for the car to pass through.
Step 3
Step 4
State how the student could calculate the amount of energy transferred to the surroundings.
Answer
The energy transferred to the surroundings can be calculated by finding the difference between the initial gravitational potential energy (GPE) at the top of the slope and the kinetic energy (KE) of the toy car at the bottom. This can be expressed as:
Step 5
Explain one way the student could reduce the amount of thermal energy transferred to the surroundings as the toy car rolls down the slope.
Answer
The student could lubricate the wheels of the toy car to reduce friction. Lower friction leads to less thermal energy being generated as the car rolls down the slope.