National and global energy resources

Manufacturing a petrol car causes carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere.

Driving a petrol car also causes carbon dioxide to be emitted.

Which of the following is an environmental problem caused by the emission of carbon dioxide?

Tick () one box.

Carbon dioxide is emitted during the manufacture of the car before the car has been driven.

Figure 1 shows the relationship between the total distance travelled by a petrol car and the total carbon dioxide emitted.

How much carbon dioxide is emitted during the manufacture of the car?

Use Figure 1.

How does the total carbon dioxide emitted change as the total distance travelled by the car increases?

Use Figure 1.

An electric car does not emit carbon dioxide as it is driven.

Choose one reason why.

Tick () one box.

Some energy resources used to generate electricity cause environmental issues.

Draw one line from each method of generating electricity to the environmental issue it causes.

Tides and wind are two renewable energy resources.

Describe the difference between renewable energy resources and non-renewable energy resources.

Figure 14 shows a new design of tidal turbine to generate electricity using the tides.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 08.2 and 08.3.

Write down the equation which links density (ρ), mass (m) and volume (V).

The mass of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second is 824 000 kg.

Calculate the volume of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second.

The speed of the tide or the speed of the wind past a turbine is called the ‘flow speed’.

Figure 15 shows how the power output of a tidal turbine compares with a wind turbine for different flow speeds.

As flow speed increases, power output increases.

Give two other conclusions that can be made using information from Figure 15.

Figure 16 shows the turbines used to obtain the data for Figure 15.

Compare the environmental impacts of the wind turbine and the tidal turbine in Figure 16.

Tides and wind are two renewable energy resources.

Describe the difference between renewable energy resources and non-renewable energy resources.

Figure 1 shows a new design of tidal turbine to generate electricity using the tides.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 01.2 and 01.3.

Write down the equation which links density (ρ), mass (m) and volume (V).

The mass of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second is 824 000 kg.

Calculate the volume of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second.

The speed of the tide or the speed of the wind past a turbine is called the ‘flow speed’.

Figure 2 shows how the power output of a tidal turbine compares with a wind turbine for different flow speeds.

As flow speed increases, power output increases.

Give two other conclusions that can be made using information from Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows the turbines used to obtain the data for Figure 2.

Compare the environmental impacts of the wind turbine and the tidal turbine in Figure 3.

Manufacturing a car produces carbon dioxide.

Explain one environmental problem caused by the emission of carbon dioxide.

Figure 7 shows the carbon dioxide produced during the lifetime of two types of car.

What mass of carbon dioxide is produced during the manufacture of the electric car?

At one distance, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by both cars is the same.

What is this distance?

Some energy resources emit carbon dioxide when used to generate electricity.

The battery-powered electric car does not emit carbon dioxide as it is driven.

Explain why more carbon dioxide is produced as the distance travelled by the electric car increases.

Which two of the following energy resources do not emit carbon dioxide when used to generate electricity?

Tick () two boxes.

Figure 16 shows a wind turbine.

Wind turbines may generate electricity when the electricity is not needed.

Two methods that can be used to store the energy from the turbine are:

Method A: Heating water to a high temperature.

Method B: Pumping water uphill into a reservoir.

Which energy store increases when water is heated?

Which energy store increases when water is pumped uphill into a reservoir?

Table 4 shows information about the two methods of storing energy.

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods of storing energy.

Include calculations in your answer.

Decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide released by different activities will help slow down climate change.

Transport and generating electricity are the two activities that released the largest amounts of carbon dioxide in the UK in 2018.

Explain one change that would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released by each activity.

Generating electricity

Figure 1 shows a wind turbine.

Wind turbines may generate electricity when the electricity is not needed.

Two methods that can be used to store the energy from the turbine are:

Method A: Heating water to a high temperature.

Method B: Pumping water uphill into a reservoir.

Which energy store increases when water is heated?

Which energy store increases when water is pumped uphill into a reservoir?

Table 1 shows information about the two methods of storing energy.

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods of storing energy.

Include calculations in your answer.

Decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide released by different activities will help slow down climate change.

Transport and generating electricity are the two activities that released the largest amounts of carbon dioxide in the UK in 2018.

Explain one change that would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released by each activity.

Generating electricity

The UK uses renewable energy resources to generate some of its electricity.

Figure 4 shows the proportion of electricity generated by different renewable energy resources in the UK in 2020.

Calculate the percentage of electricity generated using hydroelectric power.

A remote village in the UK uses a hydroelectric generator to provide electricity.

The mass of water that passes through the hydroelectric generator each day is 2 500 000 kg.

The change in vertical height of the water is 15.0 m.

gravitational field strength = 9.8 N/kg

Calculate the decrease in gravitational potential energy of the water.

Use the equation:

gravitational potential energy = mass × gravitational field strength × height

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 04.3 and 04.4.

Write down the equation which links energy (E), power (P) and time (t).

The hydroelectric generator transfers electrical power of 3000 W to the village.

Calculate the energy transferred to the village in 60 minutes.

The hydroelectric generator is turned by falling river water.

Figure 5 shows how the power output of the hydroelectric generator varied during one year.

Explain one reason why the power output varied.

A remote village in the UK uses a hydroelectric generator to provide electricity.

In one day, 2 500 000 kg of water passes through the hydroelectric generator. The change in gravitational potential energy of the water is 367.5 MJ. gravitational field strength = 9.8 N/kg Calculate the mean change in vertical height of the water as it moves through the hydroelectric generator. Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The generator transfers 3.0 kW of electrical power. Calculate the time taken for the generator to transfer 2.16 × 10⁷ J of energy. Use the Physics Equations Sheet. Give your answer in standard form.

Figure 5 shows how the power output of the generator varied during one year.

A solar power system is installed in the remote village in addition to the hydroelectric generator. Explain why this improves the reliability of the electricity supply to the village. Use information from Figure 5.

Figure 8 shows how electricity is supplied to consumers.

Electricity from the power station can be generated using renewable or non-renewable energy resources.

Complete Table 2 to show which energy resources are renewable and which are non-renewable.

Tick (✓) one box in each row.

Transformers are used to make power transmission an efficient process.

Complete the sentences.

Choose answers from the box.

Each answer may be used once, more than once or not at all.

decreases the.

transfer from the overhead transmission cables to the surroundings.

The step-down transformer decreases the

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 07.3 and 07.4.

Write down the equation which links charge flow (Q), current (I) and time (t).

The town of Hornsdale in Australia has electricity supplied by a huge battery.

The battery supplies a current of 130 000 A.

Calculate the charge flow from the battery in 5 minutes.

Choose the unit from the box.

Figure 13 shows a large wind farm off the coast of the UK.

The mean power output of the wind farm is 696 MW, which is enough power for 580 000 homes.

Calculate the mean power needed for 1 home.

Give your answer in watts.

On one day the demand for electricity in the UK was 34 000 MW.

Suggest two reasons why wind power was not able to meet this demand.

Some of the energy from the wind used to rotate a wind turbine is wasted.

An engineer oils the mechanical parts of a wind turbine.

Explain how oiling would affect the efficiency of the wind turbine.

In most homes in the UK there are many different electrical devices.

Explain why people should be encouraged to use energy efficient electrical devices.

Figure 1 shows a large wind farm off the coast of the UK.

The mean power output of the wind farm is 696 MW, which is enough power for 580 000 homes.

Calculate the mean power needed for 1 home. Give your answer in watts.

On one day the demand for electricity in the UK was 34 000 MW. Suggest two reasons why wind power was not able to meet this demand.

Some of the energy from the wind used to rotate a wind turbine is wasted. An engineer oils the mechanical parts of a wind turbine. Explain how oiling would affect the efficiency of the wind turbine.

In most homes in the UK there are many different electrical devices. Explain why people should be encouraged to use energy efficient electrical devices.

Figure 10 shows a house with a solar power system.

The solar cells generate electricity.

When the electricity generated by the solar cells is not needed, the energy is stored in a large battery.

The solar cells on the roof of the house always face in the same direction.

Explain one disadvantage caused by the solar cells only facing in one direction.

The mean current from the solar cells to the battery is 3.5 A.

Calculate the charge flow from the solar cells to the battery in 3600 seconds.

Use the equation: charge flow = current × time

Write down the equation which links efficiency, total power input and useful power output.

At one time in the day, the total power input to the solar cells was 7500 W.

The efficiency of the solar cells was 0.16

Calculate the useful power output of the solar cells.

The wasted energy that is not usefully transferred by the solar cells is dissipated.

What happens to energy that has been dissipated?

Tick (✓) one box.

Why is it unlikely that all the UK’s electricity needs could be met by solar power systems?

Tick (✓) one box.

Energy from the Sun is released by nuclear fusion.

Complete the sentences.

Nuclear fusion of deuterium is difficult to achieve on Earth because of the high temperature needed.

Electricity is used to increase the temperature of 4.0 g of deuterium by 50 000 000 °C.

specific heat capacity of deuterium = 5200 J/kg °C

Calculate the energy needed to increase the temperature of the deuterium by 50 000 000 °C.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The idea of obtaining power from nuclear fusion was investigated using models.

The models were tested before starting to build the first commercial nuclear fusion power station.

Suggest two reasons why models were tested.

Generating electricity using nuclear fusion will have fewer environmental effects than generating electricity using fossil fuels.

Explain one environmental effect of generating electricity using fossil fuels.

During one year, 1.25 × 10¹⁸ J of energy was transferred from the National Grid. number of seconds in 1 year = 3.16 × 10⁷ Calculate the mean energy transferred from the National Grid each second. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

Figure 5 shows a house with a solar power system. The solar cells generate electricity. When the electricity generated by the solar cells is not needed, the energy is stored in a large battery.

The charge flow through the cable between the solar cells and the battery in 24 hours was 27 000 coulombs. Calculate the mean current in the cable.

At one time, the total power input to the solar cells was 7.8 kW. The efficiency of the solar cells was 0.15 Calculate the useful power output of the solar cells.

It is unlikely that all of the electricity that the UK needs can be generated by solar power systems. Explain why.

Figure 1 shows how the National Grid connects power stations to consumers.

Name the parts of the National Grid labelled K, L and M.

Figure 2 shows how the percentage of electricity generated by gas-fired power stations changed in the UK over 5 years.

Calculate how many times greater the percentage of electricity generated by gas-fired power stations was in 2018 than in 2014.

Explain one environmental effect of generating electricity using a gas-fired power station.

The UK government wants more electricity to be generated using renewable energy resources. What is a renewable energy resource? Tick (✓) one box.

An offshore wind farm is a group of wind turbines that are placed out at sea. Figure 3 shows the power output of an offshore wind farm compared with a wind farm on land for a 24-hour period.

Give two advantages of the offshore wind farm compared with the wind farm on land. Use information from Figure 3.

Figure 14 shows a hydroelectric power station.

Electricity is generated when water from the reservoir flows through the turbines.

Write down the equation which links density (ρ), mass (m) and volume (V).

The reservoir stores 6 500 000 m³ of water.

Calculate the mass of water in the reservoir. Give your answer in standard form.

Write down the equation which links energy transferred (E), power (P) and time (t).

The electrical generators can provide 1.5 × 10⁹ W of power for a maximum of 5 hours. Calculate the maximum energy that can be transferred by the electrical generators.

Figure 15 shows how the UK demand for electricity increases and decreases during one day.

The hydroelectric power station in Figure 14 can provide 1.5 × 10⁹ W of power for a maximum of 5 hours. Give two reasons why this hydroelectric power station is not able to meet the increase in demand shown between 04:00 and 16:00 in Figure 15.

Figure 4 shows a hydroelectric power station.

Electricity is generated when water from the reservoir flows through the turbines.

Write down the equation which links density (ρ), mass (m) and volume (V).

The reservoir stores 6 500 000 m³ of water.

Calculate the mass of water in the reservoir. Give your answer in standard form.

Write down the equation which links energy transferred (E), power (P) and time (t).

The electrical generators can provide 1.5 × 10⁹ W of power for a maximum of 5 hours. Calculate the maximum energy that can be transferred by the electrical generators.

Figure 5 shows how the UK demand for electricity increases and decreases during

The hydroelectric power station in Figure 4 can provide 1.5 × 10⁹ W of power for a maximum of 5 hours. Give two reasons why this hydroelectric power station is not able to meet the increase in demand shown between 04:00 and 16:00 in Figure 5.

Figure 6 shows how much electricity was generated using coal-fired and gas-fired power stations in January for 5 years in the UK.

Determine the percentage increase in electricity generated using gas-fired power stations from 2014 to 2018.

Give two environmental advantages of using a gas-fired power station to generate electricity compared with using a coal-fired power station.

The mean surface temperature of the sea changes throughout the year.

A change in the mean surface temperature from year to year indicates climate change. Figure 7 shows how the mean surface temperature changed between 1988 and 2016.

A student does not believe that climate change is occurring. Explain how the data in Figure 7 suggests the student is wrong.

A thermistor can be used to measure temperature. Figure 8 shows how the resistance of four different thermistors A, B, C and D, varies with temperature.

Which of the four thermistors would be the most suitable to measure the surface temperature of the sea? Tick (✓) one box. Explain your answer.

Figure 6 shows how different energy resources were used in the United Kingdom (UK) to generate electricity on one day in June 2018.

The UK government plans to stop using coal-fired power stations by 2025. Explain one environmental problem caused when electricity is generated by burning coal.

Give two renewable energy resources that could make up the ‘Other’ energy resources in Figure 6.

Determine the percentage of electricity generated in nuclear power stations that day. Use data from Figure 6.

Figure 7 shows how the demand for electricity varied with the time of day.

What was the difference between the maximum demand and minimum demand for electricity during this day?

Figure 7 shows that the demand for electricity increased between 06:00 and 09:00 Solar power could have met the demand if there were enough solar panels installed in the UK. Explain why.

An electric car has a motor that is powered by a battery. A diesel car has an engine that is powered by diesel fuel.

Table 2 compares an electric car and a diesel car.

Give two advantages of the diesel car compared with the electric car in Table 2.

The mass of the battery in the electric car is 420 kg The total mass of the electric car is 1610 kg

Calculate the mass of the battery as a percentage of the total mass of the electric car.

Designers of electric car batteries want to increase the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery. Suggest two reasons why.

Figure 8 shows an electric car being recharged.

Write down the equation which links energy transferred, power and time.

The charger has a power output of 7000 W Calculate the time taken to transfer 420 000 J of energy to the car battery.

Electric cars have motors that are powered by a battery.

Diesel cars have engines that are powered by diesel fuel.

Table 2 compares one type of electric car with one type of diesel car.

The electric car has a range of 400 km with a fully charged battery.

The diesel car has a range of 1120 km with a full tank of diesel.

Explain the difference in the time needed to complete a 500 km journey using the electric car compared with the diesel car.

Assume both cars travel at the same speed.

Energy density is the amount of energy stored per kilogram of the energy source.

Show why the diesel car has a greater range than the electric car.

Use data from Table 2.

Assume the efficiency of the two cars is the same.

Include calculations in your answer.

Engineers have developed a way of charging electric cars while they are driving along the road.

Coils of wire buried under the road transfer energy to the car’s battery as the car is passing over the coils.

Figure 6 shows a charging lane on a motorway.

Suggest two advantages of using this method to charge electric cars compared with plugging them into the mains electricity supply.

When electric cars are not being driven, energy stored in their batteries could be used to meet sudden peaks in electricity demand.

Suggest how.

Nuclear power can be used to generate electricity through nuclear fission.

Figure 6 shows the process of nuclear fission.

Complete the sentences.

Choose answers from the box.

gamma rays light rays proton neutron nucleus X-rays

Electromagnetic radiation is released in the form of.

The UK needs at least 25 000 000 kW of electrical power at any time.

A nuclear power station has an electrical power output of 2 400 000 kW

Calculate how many nuclear power stations are needed to provide 25 000 000 kW of electrical power.

State two environmental issues caused by generating electricity using nuclear power stations.

The UK currently generates a lot of electricity by burning natural gas. This process releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Figure 7 shows how the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has changed over the past 115 years.

Figure 8 shows how the global temperature has changed over the past 115 years.

Give one similarity and one difference between the data in Figure 7 and Figure 8.

Figure 10 shows a hot water tank made of copper.

Figure 10

Copper has a higher thermal conductivity than most metals.

How does the rate of energy transfer through copper compare with the rate of energy transfer through most metals?

Tick one box.

The tank is insulated. When the water is hot, the immersion heater switches off.

Complete the sentences.

Compared to a tank with no insulation, the rate of energy transfer from the

for longer.

Figure 11 shows how temperature varies with time for water in a tank heated with an immersion heater.

Figure 12 shows how temperature varies with time for water in a tank heated with a solar panel.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of heating the water using solar panels rather than an immersion heater.

Use only information from Figure 11 and Figure 12.

Advantage of solar panels

Disadvantage of solar panels

During one morning, a total of 4 070 000 J of energy is transferred from the electric immersion heater.

4 030 000 J of energy are transferred to the water.

Calculate the proportion of the total energy transferred to the water.

Write down the equation that links energy transferred, power and time.

The power output of the immersion heater is 5000 W.

Calculate the time taken for the immersion heater to transfer 4 070 000 J of energy.

Give the unit.

Nuclear power stations generate electricity through nuclear fission. Electricity can also be generated by burning shale gas.

Shale gas is natural gas trapped in rocks. Shale gas can be extracted by a process called fracking. There is some evidence that fracking causes minor earthquakes. Burning shale gas adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Describe the advantages of nuclear power compared with the use of shale gas to generate electricity.

What is the name of one fuel used in nuclear power stations?

Describe the process of nuclear fission.