Energy stores - GCSE physics

Today, we’re going to talk about energy. Energy is the first module of the AQA GCSE Physics syllabus, and that is where we’re going to start.



If you asked a physicist what energy was, the very first thing they might do is pause for a significant second. They’d have trouble telling you—not due to a lack of understanding but because it’s challenging to explain something so complex in simple terms.

Energy is a bit like the animal kingdom. There are different types of energy, and they are each very different from one another. Creating an overarching explanation or description for all of it is one of the challenges physicists face.

But what actually is energy?

Energy is a quantity that we can measure. It carries the unit of the joule. Energy is the “family name” for a whole range of phenomena, and it works like any other measurable quantity in physics.

Nearly 100 years ago, Albert Einstein came to a startling conclusion about energy: energy and matter are two facets of the same thing. This idea revolutionized our understanding of the universe. His equation, perhaps the most famous in physics, , connects energy and matter. It shows that energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared.


We won’t go that far in a GCSE course. Instead, we’ll cover the fundamentals, starting with the different types of energy and energy stores.

Energy fundamentally causes change in the universe. From common experience, if you don’t have enough energy, you can’t climb the stairs, run across a field, or power an electrical circuit. Having energy means that the universe can experience time-dependent change.

Movement is connected to energy. If you move, you have energy, specifically kinetic energy. Kinetic energy depends on two factors: how fast you’re moving and how much mass you have. A heavier or faster object carries more kinetic energy. For example, a rhino running at full speed has much more kinetic energy than a mosquito moving at the same speed.

Energy can also accumulate in an energy store. For instance, climbing stairs involves storing energy as gravitational potential energy. High up on a roof, a great deal of gravitational potential energy is stored, which can be released as kinetic energy if something falls.

Another energy store is elastic potential energy, such as in a stretched spring or rubber band. When released, the energy stored in the material is returned.

Thermal energy is stored in anything hotter than its surroundings, such as a hot cup of tea.

Magnetic energy is stored in magnets, where the potential for movement is created by the magnetic field. Electrostatic energy, found in objects like charged balloons, involves stored electrical charges.

Nuclear energy is another key store. It powers the sun through thermonuclear fusion and provides much of the energy that sustains life on Earth.

Finally, chemical energy is stored in food, batteries, or fuels like petrol or wood. This energy is released when the chemical bonds are broken.

To summarize, the main energy stores include:

• Kinetic energy

• Gravitational potential energy

• Elastic potential energy

• Thermal energy

• Magnetic energy

• Electrostatic energy

• Nuclear energy

• Chemical energy

You’ll need to know examples of each energy store and how energy can transfer between them. For example, an object lifted high can have its energy transformed from gravitational potential to kinetic energy as it falls.

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