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NCEA Level 1 Physics 92047 Energy in physical systems: past papers, practice and marking

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About 92047

AS92047, Demonstrate understanding of a physical system using energy concepts. Falling and lifted objects, work and power, specific and latent heat, heat transfer, circuits and electrical power: the 5-credit Level 1 external, in the six question types it keeps reusing.

What 92047 covers

92047 past papers

Open a 92047 past paper beside your own Ako page, then get it marked, part by part.

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Practice questions

Question 1: Energy changes

In netball shooting practice, a player throws a ball of mass 0.40 kg straight up. It leaves her hands at 8.0 m s⁻¹. Use g = 10 N kg⁻¹.

  1. Describe the energy changes of the ball on the way up and on the way back down.(up to Achieved)
  2. Calculate the kinetic energy of the ball as it leaves her hands.(up to Achieved)
Check your answer

Part a: what gets the marks

  • On the way up Ek changes into Ep, on the way down Ep changes back into Ek, and each way some energy becomes thermal energy.

A full answer: On the way up, the ball slows down as kinetic energy is transformed into gravitational potential energy. At the top it is momentarily still. On the way down, Ep is transformed back into Ek. In both directions a little energy is transferred to thermal energy by air resistance.

Part b: what gets the marks

  • Ek = ½mv²: Ek = ½ × 0.40 × 8.0² = 12.8 J

A full answer: Ek = ½mv² = ½ × 0.40 × 8.0² = 12.8 J.

What gets each grade

AchievedDescribes Ek to Ep going up, or calculates Ek = 12.8 J.

Question 2: Energy changes

On a building site, an electric hoist lifts a bundle of roofing iron of mass 60 kg from the ground to a roof 12 m high. The hoist's motor runs at a power of 600 W and the lift takes 20 s, at a steady speed. Use g = 10 N kg⁻¹.

  1. Describe the energy changes as the hoist lifts the roofing iron.(up to Achieved)
  2. Calculate the electrical energy supplied to the motor during the lift.(up to Achieved)
Check your answer

Part a: what gets the marks

  • As the hoist lifts the load, electrical energy in the motor becomes gravitational potential energy of the roofing iron, plus thermal energy and sound in the motor.

A full answer: Electrical energy supplied to the motor is transformed into gravitational potential energy of the roofing iron as it rises (and a small amount of kinetic energy while it moves), with some transferred to thermal energy and sound in the motor and hoist.

Part b: what gets the marks

  • E = Pt: E = Pt = 600 × 20 = 12 000 J

A full answer: E = Pt = 600 × 20 = 12 000 J.

What gets each grade

AchievedDescribes electrical to gravitational potential energy, or calculates E = 12 000 J with E = Pt.

Question 3: Energy changes

On a building site, an electric hoist lifts a bundle of roofing iron of mass 60 kg from the ground to a roof 12 m high. The hoist's motor runs at a power of 600 W and the lift takes 20 s, at a steady speed. Use g = 10 N kg⁻¹.

  1. Calculate the gravitational potential energy gained by the roofing iron.(up to Achieved)
  2. The motor is supplied with 12 000 J of electrical energy during the lift. Explain why this is different from the gravitational potential energy the roofing iron gains, and where the difference has gone.(up to Excellence)
Check your answer

Part a: what gets the marks

  • Ep = mgh: Ep = 60 × 10 × 12 = 7200 J

A full answer: Ep = mgh = 60 × 10 × 12 = 7200 J.

Part b: what gets the marks

  • The difference is 12 000 J − 7200 J = 4800 J.
  • At a steady speed almost none of the energy is kinetic energy (only about 11 J).
  • The 4800 J is transferred to thermal energy and sound by friction in the motor, gears and pulley and by the current heating the motor's coils, and spreads into the hoist and the air.

A full answer: The motor is supplied with 12 000 J but the roofing iron gains only 7200 J of Ep, so 4800 J has not gone into the load. Very little of it is kinetic energy: at a steady 0.6 m s⁻¹ the load has only about 11 J of Ek. The rest is transferred to thermal energy and sound: friction between the moving parts of the motor, gears and pulley heats them, and the current in the motor's wires heats them too. This thermal energy spreads into the hoist and the air. Energy is conserved: 12 000 J in = 7200 J Ep + about 4800 J of thermal energy and sound (and a tiny Ek).

What gets each grade

AchievedCalculates Ep = 7200 J with the correct equation, or the 4800 J difference.
MeritBoth energies with the correct equations, or explains that the difference becomes thermal energy and sound.
ExcellenceBoth energies with units, and explains where the 4800 J goes: friction and heating in the motor, transferred to the surroundings as thermal energy and sound.

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