Energy in the GCSE Criteria, 2006
3. Specification content
3.7 (iii) energy, electricity and radiations
a) energy transfers can be measured and their efficiency calculated, which is important in considering the economic costs and environmental effects of energy use
b) electrical power is readily transferred and controlled, and can be used in a range of different situations
c) radiations, including ionising radiations, can transfer energy
3.9 (i) Biology
b) Energy flow and element cycles
Plant biomass provides energy and nutrients for other organisms. Through the consumption of organisms and decay, energy flows through the biosphere and chemical elements are recycled within it.
3.9 (iii) Physics
a) Forces and motion
Forces arise from interactions between objects. The balance, or otherwise, of these forces on an object affects its movement. Energy transfers can occur due to these interactions though the total energy remains constant.
b) Nuclear changes
Nuclear changes within unstable atoms cause random emissions of particles. Nuclear changes also cause the emission of energy in the form of useful and dangerous radiation.
Indicative content for GCSE science
3.7 (i) Organisms and health
a) To stay alive, organisms need a supply of energy and materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there.
3.7 (ii) Chemical and material behaviour
It is important for sustainable development and for economy to reduce waste and to choose reactions with high yield, high atom economy and non-vigorous conditions (ie low energy consumption and dissipation).
3.7 (iii) Energy, electricity and radiations
a) Energy transfers can be measured, eg temperature changes, and modified, eg by insulation. Energy use can be costed. The economic and environmental effects of energy use can be compared and evaluated, eg alternative ways of keeping a home at a suitable temperature.
b) Electricity is transferred from power stations to consumers and is widely used because it can readily transfer energy to devices which produce movement, heating, light and sound.
c) Electromagnetic radiation can transfer energy from a source to a receiver or detector through a vacuum. When radiation strikes an object, including living material, some energy may pass through it, some may be reflected and some absorbed.
Indicative content for GCSE additional science
(i) Biology
b) Plants produce biomass by photosynthesis, using carbon dioxide from the air, mineral salts from the soil, and energy from the Sun. Energy released during respiration enables processes to take place inside living organisms.
(ii) Chemistry
b) Reactions can be observed as reversible, and may reach equilibrium. They may also be observed as exothermic or endothermic.
It is important for sustainable development and for economy to reduce waste and to choose reactions with high yield, high atom economy and non-vigorous conditions (ie low energy consumption and dissipation).
(iii) Physics
a) Applying forces to objects can cause changes in energy (eg stretching a spring or accelerating a car).
b) Some unstable atoms undergo nuclear fission with the emission of a great deal of energy. Fusion is the source of energy release in stars.
Further details can be found in the STEM Learning eLibrary:
GCSE Criteria for Science 2006
