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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 16 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 8 - 2020 - Paper 1
Question 8
A student lifts a toy car from a bench and places the toy car at the top of a slope as shown in Figure 16. (a) Describe an energy transfer that occurs when the stud... 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 16 - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 8 - 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 from the bench, work is done against the gravitational force, resulting in an increase in gravitational potential energy (GPE). The energy transfer involved is from the student's muscle energy to the gravitational potential energy 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 find the speed of the toy car at the bottom of the slope, the student could measure the distance covered by the toy car and the time taken to reach the bottom.
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Measure the distance from the starting point at the top of the slope to the bottom using a ruler or measuring tape.
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Use a stopwatch to time how long it takes for the car to travel this distance.
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Apply the formula for speed:
By averaging multiple trials, the student can ensure accurate results.
Step 3
Step 4
State how the student could calculate the amount of energy transferred to the surroundings as the toy car rolls down the slope.
Answer
The student could calculate the energy transferred to the surroundings by measuring the initial gravitational potential energy (GPE) at the top of the slope and the kinetic energy (KE) at the bottom. The energy transferred can be calculated using the formula:
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Step 5
Explain one way the student could reduce the amount of thermal energy transferred to the surroundings as the toy car rolls down the slope.
Answer
The student could lubricate the wheels of the toy car to reduce friction between the wheels and the surface of the slope. This would minimize the thermal energy loss to the surroundings by allowing the toy car to roll more smoothly down the slope.