SSR Mar 88 DES, 1984). inary. science in chet fist y of Techno: sary sciencx is their frst Te Coil Transferring not transforming energy MARK ELLSE Emanuel School, London Recent articles in The School Science Review (3,2) have drawn attention to the vocabulary that we use (0 describe processes involving heating, They are a welcome reminder that the concept of energy is not well understood. Despite this, ‘energy is a core concept in science. Some advocate that we should introduce it to primary school children and energy plays a central role in the early curriculum of the secondary school where, for my mind, it gets very unsatisfactory treatment. ‘An examination of textbooks for the 11 t0 18 age group produces one distinct feature of the teaching of energy—the number of forms of energy there are. If any mechanical phenomenon has energy associated with it, it may have a special type of energy. Nuclear fuels have nuclear energy, hot bodies have heat energy, waves have wave energy, electrical circuits have electrical energy, and vibrating bodies have vibrating energy. OF course, behind all these ‘forms of energy’ is the implication, clearer in some books than in others, that these forms of energy enable ‘useful jobs to be done’. Pupils describing processes which involve working or heating are encouraged to focus their attention on the forms of energy and the transformations that ‘sccur. This emphasis on forms of energy introduces problems. tt draws attention away from the easier, more useful and important understanding of energy transfer. In addition, early study of forms of energy does little to encourage students to dlcfine terms carefully so that terms like mechanical energy, and binding energy are not lused carefully by A-level students, or sometimes teachers. It is the use of the term Jet that has drawn much recent attention {1.21 Icis easy, but not constructive, to criticise existing approaches without having in mind reasonable replacements. If we wish to make progress itis necessary (0 have in mind sensible goals in the teaching of energy. Teaching across the ability ‘ange, one is aware of two clear needs. 1, ‘To give pupils who will not continue with physics, adequate conceptual tools «o deal with physical concepts that they will meetin life. 2. To give pupils who will study A-level physics, a firm conceptual foundation for future study. ‘Ac this point, one might have few critics. These aims might be generally accepted. On the other hand dey contrast with wo extreme views on the curriculum commenting front, The first of these maintains that nothing of error should ever be taught. One might disagree with this view, believing that there ‘ight be a place for the teaching of approximate descriptions of the physical “ \hiverse if it is useful to our first group of students. The second extreme group of “Gurricalum developers maintains that large amounts of error can acceptably be SSR Mer aa a"TRANSFERRING NOT TRANSFORMING ENERGY SSR Mar 88 dents with the cll of is useful for the majority but be applied to the teaching of iding physicists need to have some grasp of the concept of energy. In -y will need to deal with fuel bills, consider the relative merits af ining cost of electrical ie Fate of energy consumption, decide between coal and gas fires he energy requirements of their method of transport. OF course houghts arrive at random but on reflection perhaps chey embrace cas of domestic energy usage. If we hope to equip our students with th these issues they will need to have a concept of energy. What is however, is that they 2 definition of work to define the j 10 work. ‘we use energy more 'y many of our pupils of work, Some pupils have great diffi operation such as m force. They can that a Targe change of teen achievements for many pupils without a single formal definition ol energy. On the other hand, our intending A-level. scie ler study. We requize him to ion of work. How might a cl more qualitative approach lor ink back to the way in which I was taught about electric current ‘as & useful process of education that happened to me there. I pla standing little. Long before the ampere was defined was measuring currents in circuits, noticing th re amps and developing a useful conc: mn of rate of flow of charge came alo1 my understanding of concept of current by "1 defining the easy one fron it work: SSR Mar 88 ‘When teaching about energy, we might expect that: |. Some understanding of the difficult concept can be communicated without Formal definitions and wi 2 With care, a rigorous se controversial butagain, it excludes iat no study of energy can begin until Nor do T think we can be an isin this latter area that fhe moment. Let us look at an example, {ISTING APPROACH TO ENERGY TEACHING 1 original Nuffield O-level physics course st sawing the di mn between fuel using jobs ce develope \e concept through the first year q} Nuffield O Level Physics Question Book 1 | Fuels, foodstufls, and energy changes tof ten ‘jobs’ done by living and non-living things. Which ‘using’ job, and which requires no fuel? A man hoisting a sack of potatoes off the ground on to his back. Pillars hol in motion, in the room where youare siting. gin and compressing air keeping things cold ona hot day. Water keeping-a boat afloat ‘Abus moving along a horizontal road on a windy day. Aman ora computer doing sum: is profitable study. Simple q Nuffield O Level Physics Question Book 1 Q.203 An engine pumps water from a lake to a high reservoir. To raise 200 sallons of water 800 feet above the lake the engine uses up (burns) one of 1 ol How many pints of oil would be required to pump 400 gallons toa heighe 0f 300 feet? ‘How many pints to pump 200 gallons to 600 feet? How many pints to pump 400 gallons to 600 feet? How many pints to pump 600 gallons to 450 feet? he concepts are useful and well tuned to pi though the less aznbitious of us might be inclined to introduce these ideas int second ox third year of a secondary school course. ive work fol ‘TRANSFERRING NOT TRANSFORMING ENERGY ~ 429°492 TRANSFERRING NOT TRANSFORMING ENERGY SSR Mare — SSR Mar 88 -mansrenninc Nortransrormincsneney 453 is contracted—see Figure 4. stages are processes in the transfer rete steam works mechanically on the winbine lade The blades work of ener on the dypamo rotor. The sotor works electrically vs the electrons mechanic per on the rotor in dhe hoist or on the vibrating ions in the heating clement. ‘Simple situations provide eas thed belt. The belt 's being wansferred. That something the ‘possible to say to the pupil that. the thing ‘erty which necessitates making the link between w ‘we wall energy. Linking our own inaccurate vocabulary with 0 yr standard way of introducing cone« Figure 2 shows a gear ‘The motor works ms there is One relers to is transterned as energy. Whe ey ean gradually earn that itis wy have separate vocabulary t0 cope much to be said for av cencrgy sas heating and ccome across the word heat her ‘This si ‘of pulleys or wit of hom stands still while the other ro Figure 8 shows an clectrical circu 1 ENERGY {works electrically via the electrons ad the | Teistor, resulting in the internal enerEy ich behaves it Je wire on the resistor bei IGAL WORKING AND ELECTRI ‘confusion between the quan ne sort of confusion occurs with el si ‘most universally used for the process of electrical the term electrical energy is al ial energy? Electrical energy exists when opposite charges are 1a current is flowing in an pre an ‘charges rearrange themselves Connecting wire gets hot in the process. Energy has been tra carne Atel ait mixture has energy—largely electrical potential energy. When the ‘ned, the charged particles rearrange themselves to take up a lower potential energy. So fuels have electrical potential energy, as do batteries —who ays you cannot store electrical energy ial working? When an electric current passes through a substance ergy is transferred (0 that substance without s process is electrical working, Together ig it Is a process by which the energy of @ ‘concept of electrical working nost completely ignored in school gues. hcl working deciliyonaessor vate ceconicsi 8 WS sa Figure 2 erhaical works aot a physical umtip being wanetrred sytem anche iste physical process of energy transler, 1 Figs Sate ah nor elecial energy ace quaites being wansferred sap cell working electrically on the resistor. To be sure, 0 the electrons have kinetic energy 2s do the atoms j it the steady state, no conversion ‘o or from belt or one sel question Level physics that shows confusion over what is going on inan elect ners of Lindon, O Level Physics, Paper 1, january 1984 id are connected to a sensitive Eis placed upright on a bench. A st ‘and out of the solenoid, as shown in the the process by which a power station is able to raise a load ‘oist oF raise the temperature of an electrical heater. In the gy of steam fed into the turbine is used to raise the pocential id; in the latter cas inal energy of the heater. Energy appears at the begin the steam and at the end of the process in the load or heating elernent. (This chat ‘magnet is held verti diagram on the next page. of the following statements is NOT true? ‘A Mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy B ‘generated in the solenoid, © ‘The ammeter needle moves on each side of zero. D__ The magnet becomes slightly weaker. The solenoid tends wo liftoff the bench as the magnet moves upwards. the examiners beligve that answer D is the only incorrect one. But 1 B to this question ate also incorrect. fab pully igure 2, A rotting gear working on. fixed pulley via woothed bet