Energy transfer

Created by

Lily Mae Pettifer

Cards (5)

Examples of Energy Transfer
Energy transfers occur all the time in various everyday circumstances
Some common situations include when:
An object projected upwards or up a slope
A moving object hitting an obstacle
An object being accelerated by a constant force
A vehicle slowing down
Bringing water to a boil in an electric kettle
An Object Projected Upwards
Before the ball is thrown upwards, the person holding the ball has energy in their chemical store
When the ball is thrown, some of that energy is transferred to the kinetic store of the ball as it begins to move upwards
As the height of the ball increases, energy from the kinetic store of the ball is transferred to its gravitational potential store
A Moving Object Hitting an Obstacle
When an object is moving, energy in the chemical store of the fuel is transferred to the kinetic store
If the object hits an obstacle the speed will decrease very quickly
Therefore, the energy in its kinetic store will decrease
Most of the energy from its kinetic store is transferred to the thermal store (dissipated)
Energy is also transferred by heating to the thermal store of the air as the sound waves transfer energy away from the system (cair particles to vibrate)
A Vehicle Being Accelerated by a Constant Force
When an object, such as a vehicle is stationary, it has energy in the chemical store of the fuel
When the vehicle speeds up or accelerates, the energy is transferred to the kinetic store of the car
A Vehicle Slowing Down
When a vehicle is moving, it has energy in its kinetic store
As it slows down or decelerates, energy is transferred to the thermal store of the surroundings (dissipated)
This energy is transferred by heating due to friction between the tyres and the ground, and due to friction between the brakes and the brake pads
Energy is also transferred by heating as the sound waves transfer energy away from the system (making the air particles vibrate)