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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 2 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 2 - 2020 - Paper 1
Question 2
A student lifts a toy car from a bench and places the toy car at the top of a slope as shown in Figure 2. (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 2 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 2 - 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, gravitational potential energy (GPE) is being transferred to the toy car. As the toy car is raised from the bench to the top of the slope, work is done against the force of gravity, which increases the GPE of the toy car. This energy transfer can be described as:
- The lifting of the toy car involves converting the student's kinetic energy and some energy from the chemical stores in the student's body to gravitational potential energy that is stored in the toy car.
Step 2
Describe how the student could find, by experiment, the speed of the toy car at the bottom of the slope.
Answer
To determine the speed of the toy car at the bottom of the slope, the student could perform the following steps:
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Measurement of Relevant Distance: Measure the length of the slope that the toy car travels using a measuring tape. Alternatively, record the distance along the bench if required.
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Measurement of Relevant Time: Use a stopwatch to measure the time it takes for the toy car to reach the bottom of the slope. This time should be recorded for accuracy.
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Calculation of Speed: Calculate the speed of the toy car using the formula: The distance used would be the length of the slope measured in step 1, and the time would be as recorded in step 2.
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Details for Accuracy: To increase accuracy, the student could repeat the experiment several times and average the speed results. Additionally, using a light gate at the bottom of the slope could provide an accurate measurement of the speed as the car passes through.