More calculations of change
Physics Narrative
for 11-14
Other pathways
These calculations are further ahead in the pupils' learning, and are presented for completeness.
The energy shifted by electrical working can also be calculated and that has an episode all to itself (SPT: Electric circuits topic). Put briefly, energy is shifted through electrical working when charge passes through a voltage. For example, energy is shifted to the thermal store of the surroundings when charge passes through the resistive filament wire of a bulb, and we can measure the voltage drop with a voltmeter connected across the bulb.
Hot things can shift energy to another internal store in two different ways; by radiation and by particles. In neither case is it particularly easy to calculate the amount of energy shifted at this early stage, but by way of compensation the mechanisms for these two pathways are looked at in detail in episode 05. More on how to do the calculations is in the SPT: Electricity and energy topic.
energy shifted = charge passing × voltage drop
Or, with units:
energy shiftedjoule = charge passingcoulomb × voltage dropvolt
