In GCSE Science students will spend some time looking at electrical energy. This is the second of six quizzes on that topic and it focusses on costing electricity and calculating energy transfers.
We often use electrical appliances because they transfer energy at the flick of a switch. The amount of energy transferred by the appliance depends on the power of the appliance and how long it is switched on. We can calculate how much energy is transferred by any appliance using a simple equation linking the power and the time it was switched on for:
energy transferred = power x time
You need to watch the units - if you need the energy transferred in kilowatt-hours, the power needs to be in kilowatts and the time in hours. If the power is given in watts and the time in seconds, the energy transferred will be in joules. Take care not to mix the units.