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Describe what happens to the wasted energy - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 3 - 2016 - Paper 1
Question 3
Describe what happens to the wasted energy. Explain one way the experiment can be improved to reduce the amount of wasted energy. The initial mass of the water in ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Describe what happens to the wasted energy - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 3 - 2016 - Paper 1
Step 1
Describe what happens to the wasted energy.
Answer
Wasted energy typically refers to the energy that is not used for the intended purpose in an experiment. In this case, it is likely that some thermal energy is lost to the surroundings, primarily to the air and the beaker. This energy dissipates as heat, which does not contribute to heating the water, resulting in inefficiency in the heating process.
Step 2
Explain one way the experiment can be improved to reduce the amount of wasted energy.
Answer
One way to reduce the amount of wasted energy is to insulate the beaker. By wrapping the beaker in insulating materials, less heat energy will escape into the environment, thereby increasing the efficiency of the heating process and ensuring that more energy is used to heat the water instead.
Step 3
Use an equation from the formula sheet to calculate the specific latent heat of the water.
Answer
The specific latent heat (L) can be calculated using the formula:
where
- is the thermal energy transferred (270,000 J),
- is the mass of the water that changed state (0.72 kg - 0.60 kg = 0.12 kg).
Substituting the values, we get:
Thus, the specific latent heat of the water is 2,250,000 J/kg.