Efficiency

Efficiency
08/01/23 Keywords
Lesson Objectives Input energy
Output energy
To be able to define what is meant by efficiency.
Efficiency
To be able to calculate efficiency.
Temperature
To be able to explain how temperature affects the efficiency of a ball.
Particle model-gases
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Links
Efficiency ratings on new appliances, indicating how
energy efficient they are to allow consumers to make
informed choices.
From March 2021 there have been new energy efficiency
labels to help consumers make better choices

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
What does it tell you?

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 What do we mean by efficiency?
Dictionary definition

Efficiency is the quality of being able to do a task successfully, without wasting time or energy.

Amazon is known for its efficiency of its warehouses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TL80_8ACPc

Science definition

In physics and engineering, efficiency is the ratio between the amount of energy a machine 

needs to make it work, and the amount it produces.
It’s comparing how much energy goes into a machine, compared with how much energy
comes out as a useful form.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Calculating efficiency
To calculate efficiency we need to know the amount of energy going in and the amount of
useful energy coming out. Remember in all cases some of that energy is converted into
wasted energy-energy that can not be used usefully.

Something that is 100% efficient(no such thing!) uses all of the energy going in to do
something useful.

Something that ai 80% efficient means that 80% of the energy does something useful whilst
20% is dissipated into something not useful.

For example, your mobile phone converts the chemical energy in the battery into light, sound
and heat. You need the light and sound, but the heat is wasted energy. It’s not useful.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Calculating efficiency
To calculate efficiency we need to know the energy in and the
useful energy out. We then use this equation:-

Efficiency = useful energy out x 100%

energy in

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Efficiency calculations-Modelling

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
I do
Efficiency calculations-Modelling

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
I do
Efficiency calculations-Modelling

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
We do
 Helpful hints
How many metres are there in a
kilometre?
How many Joules are there in a kilojoule?

1kJ = 1000 Joules

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
You do
Efficiency calculations-Modelling

Helpful hints
How many metres are there in a
kilometre?
How many Joules are there in a kilojoule?

1kJ = 1000 Joules

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Challenge
 So how does the air inside
affect how they bounce?

Watch these two clips.

What do you notice about the

balls in the clips?

Does the air in them affect their

efficiency?
What happens when a ball bounces?
When a ball is dropped gravity pulls the ball toward the
ground, slowing the ball down so that each bounce is
shorter and shorter, until eventually the ball stops
bouncing.

The force of the ball hitting the hard ground puts an

equal force back onto the ball, meaning it bounces back
up. This happens because balls are made out of an
elastic material which allows them to be squashed or
stretched and then return to their original shape. If the
ball was made of a softer material, like plasticine it would
be squashed on the ground and wouldn’t bounce back
up, or if it was made of a hard material, such as glass it
would break when dropped.
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 How to calculate the efficiency of a ball bounce
Equipment Method
3 balls • Drop the ball from 1m
Metre ruler high and measure how
high it bounces back up.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Watch the video clip and record the results in the table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJAl3ex0Vko

Type of ball Mass(g) Drop Input energy Bounce Output energy Efficiency
height(cm) =mass x 10 x height(cm) =mass x 10 x =output/input
drop height bounce height

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Type of ball Mass(g) Drop Input energy Bounce Output energy Efficiency
height(cm) =mass x 10 x height(cm) =mass x 10 x =output/input
drop height bounce height

Type of ball Mass(g) Drop Input energy Bounce Output energy Efficiency
height(cm) =mass x 10 x height(cm) =mass x 10 x =output/input
drop height bounce height
Watch the video clip and record the results in the table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJAl3ex0Vko

Type of ball Mass(g) Drop Input energy Bounce Output energy Efficiency
height(cm) =mass x 10 x drop height(cm) =mass x 10 x =output/
height bounce height inputx100%
Racquet ball 41.44 96 =41.44 x 10 x 96 63 26107.2 =66%
= 39782.4
Tennis ball 57.35 96 =55056 56 32116 =58%

Foam ball 43.92 99 =43480.8 45 195663.6 =45%

Which is the most efficient or bounciest ball?

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Sankey Diagrams

Energy Diagrams

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Sankey Diagrams
Sankey diagrams are used to represent energy transfers. The widths of the
arrows on the diagram are proportional to the amounts of energy they represent.

Useful energy
Energy input output

Wasted energy output

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Sankey Diagrams
It is easier to draw a neat and correct Sankey diagram if you use graph
paper.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred
by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)

Draw a Sankey diagram to represent these energy transfers.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Start by drawing the part of the arrow that represents
the total energy in.

Choose a scale
that can show 20 J
and 180 J easily.
This distance
represents 200 J.
So each small
square represents
20 J.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Work out how wide the arrow representing 20 J wasted energy needs to be.

20 J is
represented by
one square.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Draw the wasted energy arrow pointing downwards.

Draw the arrow

one square wide
along the bottom
of the main arrow.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Draw an arrow to show the 180 J of useful energy transferred. This is represented by
nine squares.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Complete the diagram by adding labels.

Example 1:
A motor transfers 200 J of energy every second. 20 J of this is transferred by heating. (This 20 J is wasted energy.)
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Example 2:
A 300 W lamp transfers 300 J of energy every second. 30 J of this is transferred by
light. Draw a Sankey diagram to represent the energy transfers.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
As the input energy is 300 J,
make the main part of the
arrow three large squares
wide.
So each small square
represents 20 J.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Draw the arrow representing the
wasted energy pointing
downwards.
270 J of the energy is wasted.
This is represented by 13.5 small
squares on the diagram.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Add the arrow showing the
useful energy transferred.
This is 30 J, represented by 1.5
small squares on the diagram.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Your turn
A light bulb transfers 60 J of energy every second. It
transfers 33 J of useful light energy and the rest is
transferred to the surroundings by heating.
a. Draw a Sankey diagram to represent the energy transfers
in the light bulb.
b.How is energy transferred to the light bulb?
c. How much energy is transferred from the light bulb by
heating?

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
60J 33J

27J

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 A

Which answer goes with

each energy transfer?

60, 100,240

How did you decide this?

B C
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Thinking Hard

In the experiment:
1. Identify which are the independent, dependent and
control variables in this practical.
2. Trends and Patterns: Look at the data for another group
who did the other ball(squash or tennis). What trends
and patterns can you find in the data?
3. Compare: Look at the data for another group and
compare the efficiencies of the tennis and squash balls at
room temperature.
4. Make connections: What can you say about the effect of
temperature on the efficiency of the bounce of a ball?
5. Extend: How could you extend this experiment?

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
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SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 Sankey Diagrams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=dK1Fjk-OqDw

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
https://interestin
gengineering.co
m/what-are-the-
physics-behind-b
ouncing-balls

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 What does this video show?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDDDqh72kt0
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Why do they need to warm up the ball?

What’s inside the squash ball?

The squash ball is a hollow rubber

shell containing air inside.

What happens when you start to

warm up the ball? What happens
to the particles inside the rubber
cavity?

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 So what does that look like using the particle model?

Draw what the air particles are like in the cold Draw what the air particles are like in the warm
ball ball
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
 So what does that look like using the particle model?

Draw what the air particles are like in the cold Draw what the air particles are like in the warm
ball ball
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT