When a substance transfers energy in from the surroundings, e.g. melting, boiling and evaporating.

When a substance transfers energy out to the surroundings by heating, e.g. condensing and freezing.

Heating and cooling

Science

Cooling curve: practical

Exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions

Comparing fuels

Power stations

Using renewable energy resources

In the Carbon Cycle and Climate Change unit, pupils will build on their understanding of fuels and energetics to learn about the carbon cycle and the impact of human activity on climate.

In the Understanding chemical reactions unit, pupils learnt about how atoms move around to form new substances in chemical reactions and about some common types of chemical reactions.

This unit examines energy changes in state, exothermic and endothermic reactions, and energy transfers in various processes. It emphasises objectivity, accuracy, and precision in scientific enquiries, data interpretation, and the use of tables, graphs, and reliable methods.

Fuels and energetics

A plateau is a section of a graph that does not change value (stays at the same level for a period of time).

The melting point of a substance is the temperature at which it changes from solid state to a liquid state.

Freezing is the process of a substance changing from a liquid state to a solid state.

Measured using a thermometer (commonly in °C). Temperature is an indirect measure of the energy of the particles in a substance.

is a type of reaction in which energy is transferred from the reactants to the surroundings, e.g. combustion.

is a type of reaction in which energy from the surroundings is transferred to the products, e.g. photosynthesis.

Thermal energy can dissipate which means it can be transferred to the environment and wasted.

In a combustion reaction, fuel is burned and reacts with oxygen to release energy.

In a fair test, variables are controlled so that only one change affects the dependent variable.

Control variables are all variables, other than the independent and dependent variables, that are kept constant/the same in an investigation.

A fuel is a substance that releases its stored energy when it undergoes combustion.

works like a motor in reverse, generating electricity when it is pushed round

a substance that causes damage to air, water or land and is likely to harm living organisms

gases in the atmosphere that keep it warmer than it would be without them

a machine that generates electricity when wire coils inside it are made to spin in a magnetic field

a series of angled blades that turn electrical generators that produce electricity

an energy resource that can be replenished as quickly as it is used so will not run out

a resource that can be replenished naturally and used with little or no negative impact on the environment

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Fuels and energetics

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