Examination boards are very keen on asking students to apply their knowledge to real-world situations. One of the most important issues in the world today is climate change and one of the most important ways to address this is by switching from non-renewable energy sources to renewables. BP, which has long been thought of as … Continue reading Key Facts: Renewable Energy
Electric Motors
Having covered Fleming's Left-Hand Rule previously, we will now apply its general principles to the specific application of an electric motor. In particular, we will look at how the sideways motion due to a linear force, as predicted in Fleming's Left-Hand Rule, can be used to produce continuous rotation. We will be focusing on a … Continue reading Electric Motors
Investigating I-V Characteristics
Many GCSE Physics courses, including AQA Trilogy, include a compulsory practical to investigate the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of various electrical components. This experiment links back to the work done by Georg Ohm, whose results have previously been summarised as; "the current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference (voltage) across the … Continue reading Investigating I-V Characteristics
Ohm’s Law
Potential difference (voltage) and current are fundamental measurements for electric circuits. Multiply the potential difference across a device by the current flowing through it to get the power rating for that device.Multiply the power rating by the time for which the device is used to get the energy that the device has transferred. All of … Continue reading Ohm’s Law
Resources for Electricity Generation
In school we talk about different ways to generate electricity as a potential exam topic but it's much, much more important than that. Russia's war with Ukraine has brought this fact sharply into focus as people start talking about a boycott of Russian oil and gas. At the same time, the UK is phasing-out its … Continue reading Resources for Electricity Generation
Energy Transfers in Electric Circuits
The amount of energy transferred in an electric circuit can be calculated by multiplying the current, time and potential difference. This is expressed in the equation given below. Current is measured in amps (amperes), time is in seconds, and potential difference in volts. Remember that the symbol for current is the letter I - not … Continue reading Energy Transfers in Electric Circuits
Magnificent moles
You may well ask, what is the point of an SI unit that measures “amount”? Surely if we want to know an amount then we simply count whatever it is that we need to quantify. That’s fine until we get to VERY large numbers. How large? We’re talking here about numbers that are massively bigger … Continue reading Magnificent moles
Resistance theory
Often it is true in physics that if you can understand one thing then it will automatically help you to understand something else. A good example of this occurs in resistance, where the model of resistance in a wire links directly to the behaviour of circuits that have resistors arranged either in series or in … Continue reading Resistance theory
Online Circuit Simulators
One of the best ways to learn about circuits and resistance is by building circuits - either in the classroom or using an online simulation. I've previously recommended PhET DC Circuit simulation, which (despite some non-standard circuit symbols) is still a great way to take measurements that demonstrate concepts such as Ohm's Law. You can … Continue reading Online Circuit Simulators
Auto-electric?
We all know that fossil fuels are bad for the environment and that their use in cars is being phased out but how much do you know about the alternatives? Electric cars probably spring to mind but what about other options that might actually be better choices? This is relevant for the GCSE course and, … Continue reading Auto-electric?
Mr Tarrant's physbang 'blog 