Topic Summaries

Electrical energy transfers

IGCSE > Physics > CIE > IGCSE Physics Topic Summaries > Electricity > Electrical energy transfers
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Science skills: Measuring results

  • Batteries and cells do work to move electrons around a circuit. This transfers the chemical energy in the battery to electrical energy in the circuit.
  • Electrons will collide with atoms in a resistor, causing electrical energy to be transferred to thermal energy as the resistor becomes hot.
  • The energy transferred by electrical work to a component is given as \(\text{charge}\times\text{potential difference}\) . This can be written as \(E=QV\) where:
    • E is the energy transferred in J
    • Q is the charge that flows through the component in C
    • V is the potential difference across the component in V
  • The electrical energy transferred to an appliance is dependent on its power and the time it is turned on for. This is because \(\text{energy transfer}=\text{power}\times\text{time}\) or \(E=Pt\).
  • Appliances will transfer energy from mains electricity or batteries to other forms.
    • Kettles will transfer energy to heat in water.
    • Motors will transfer energy to kinetic energy for rotation.

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