Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

KALAAFAANU SCHOOL
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
WORKSHEET – WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

GRADE-08
Name: ----------------------- Index: --------------- Reg.:------------- Class: ---------

1. (a) A petrol-driven car accelerates from rest to its cruising speed along a straight level
road.

(i) State the principal energy changes in the car and in its surroundings.

(ii) The car now climbs a slope with no change of speed. Explain whether the rate of petrol
consumption will increase, stay the same or decrease.

(b) Stone is raised from the floor of a quarry as shown in Fig. 9.1.

The circumference of the pulley wheel is 1.35 m and the mass of the lifting cradle is 40
kg. A block of stone of mass 600 kg is raised at constant speed through a height of 27 m
in a time of 3.0 minutes. The gravitational force exerted on a mass of 1.0 kg may be
assumed to be 10 N.

Calculate

(i) the number of revolutions of the pulley during the lifting,

(ii) the speed of the stone and the cradle,

(iii) the combined weight of the stone and the cradle,

(iv) the tension (force) in the lifting rope,

(v) the output power of the motor assuming that the friction at the pulley is negligible.

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Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

2. Fig. 9.1 shows a wind turbine used to produce electricity. The turbine blades turned by
the wind and are connected to an electrical generator.

(a) Energy can be converted from one form into another.

(i) State the useful energy transformations that occur during the operation of a wind turbine

(ii) Describe briefly why more energy is produced per second if

1. the wind blows faster,

2. the turbine blades are longer,

3. the turbine is more efficient.

(iii) State one other energy transformation that produces electricity on a large scale and in
which fuel is not burnt

(b) In one revolution the blades sweep out a circle, as shown in Fig. 9.2. In 60s a volume of
540 000 m 3 of air travelling at a speed of 6.0 m/s is incident at right angles on that circle.
The density of air is 1.2 kg/m 3 .

Calculate

(i) the mass of air that passes through this circle in 60 s,

(ii) the initial kinetic energy of this mass of air,
(iii) the maximum input power available to the wind turbine.

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Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

3. A coal-fired power station produces electricity by burning coal. Below figure shows the
diagram of the power station.

Each of the boxes should contain one of the three labels turbine, generator or boiler.

(i) Copy the block diagram on the above figure and label the boxes.

(ii) Describe the useful energy changes that occur in each box of the block diagram.

(iii) Burning coal can cause problems in the area around the power station. State one of these
problems.

(b) Coal is a non-renewable source of energy.

(i) Explain what is meant by non-renewable.

(ii) State two other non-renewable sources of energy.

(iii) State two renewable sources of energy.

4. Fig. 12.4 shows a car, initially at rest, rolling down a hill with its engine turned off.

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Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

A student uses ideas about energy to produce a spreadsheet motion of the car. The student
assumes that there is no air friction or air resistance.

The student’s spreadsheet is shown in Fig. 12.5.

The mass of the car used in the calculations is 860 kg. Take g, the gravitational field
strength, as 10 N/kg.

(a) (i) Explain how values for the gravitational potential energy in column B are calculated
from values of the height of the car in column A.

(ii) Calculate the height of the top of the hill.

(b) (i) State the principle of conservation of energy.

(ii) Use this principle to explain how the values of the kinetic energy were calculated in
column C from values in column B.

(c) Calculate the velocity of the car when the height of the car is zero.

5. A falling metal hammer is used to dive a hollow steel post into the ground, as shown in
Fig. 9.1. The hammer is lifted by an electric motor and then falls freely to hit the base plate.

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Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

(a) (i) State the law of conservation of energy.

(ii) State the energy conversions that take place as the hammer falls, starting from the
initial potential energy of the hammer before it is dropped.

(b) The metal hammer has a mass of 1500 kg and it hits the base plate with speed of 8.0 m/s

(i) Calculate the kinetic energy of the hammer as it hits the base plate.

(ii) State the initial potential energy of the hammer.

(iii) Calculate the height above the base plate from which the hammer is dropped. Take g
as 10 N/kg.

(c) (i) In raising the hammer, the electric motor uses more energy than that stated in (b)(ii).
State and explain two reasons why the motor uses more energy.

(ii) state one change to the equipment in Fig. 9.1 that would cause the base plate to
move further into the ground each time the hammer falls.

6. The below diagram shows a children’s ride. A carriage containing children is pulled up
the slope by a motor. The carriage stops at A and then runs down through B, C and D
without further input of energy. Between D and E the carriage turns through a bend at
constant speed, as shown in the below figure. At E, the brakes are applied and the
carriage slows to stop at F. The height of the ride is 30m at A and 10m at C.

The mass of the children is 500 kg.

Take the gravitational field strength as 10 N/ kg.

(a) (i) Discuss the energy changes that occur in the ride from A to D.

(b) (II) Calculate the maximum potential energy of the carriage and children.

(iii) Assuming that there is not friction between A and C, determine the kinetic energy
of the carriage and children at C, show your working.

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Kalaafaanu School Grade -8 / Physics

7. A pole-vaulter runs along a track, reaching a maximum speed of 8.4 m/s. At the end of
the track, he places a pole into the ground as shown in Fig. 3.1, and uses the pole to
push himself vertically upwards.

(a) When the pole-vaulter runs along the track, there is a constant forward force on him of
320 N and a backwards resistive force that varies with his speed as shown in Fig. 3.2.

Explain why the maximum speed that he can reach is 8.4 m/s.

(b) The mass of the pole-vaulter is 60 kg.

(i) Calculate the maximum kinetic energy of the pole-vaulter as he runs along the track.
State clearly the formula that you use.

(ii) The pole is used to convert all this kinetic energy into gravitational potential energy.
Calculate the height through which the pole vaulter rises. Give your answer to an
appropriate number of significant figures. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.

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