plumiEnergy resources and electricity generation: Edexcel International GCSE Physics questions
Every Edexcel International GCSE Physics exam question on Energy resources and electricity generation (specification points 4.18–4.19), 2019–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Exam
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Calculations
Q3(a)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)
The whole paper ↗Q3(a)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)
The whole paper ↗Q7(a)
The whole paper ↗Q7(b)
The whole paper ↗Q7(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q7(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q7(c)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q6(a)
The whole paper ↗Q6(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q6(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q6(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q2(a)
The whole paper ↗Q2(b)
The whole paper ↗Q7(a)
The whole paper ↗Q7(b)
The whole paper ↗Q1(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q1(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q1(b)
The whole paper ↗
All 40 questions on Energy resources and electricity generation, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q3(a) (3 marks): Describe how energy is transferred from the Sun’s energy store to the battery’s energy store. (3)
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q3(b) (1 mark): The petrol engine can also be used to charge the battery of the camper van. Give an advantage of using the solar panel instead of the petrol engine to charge th
- June 2025 (R), Paper 2, Q3(a) (2 marks): Give two advantages of generating electricity using tidal power. (2) 1 2
- June 2025 (R), Paper 2, Q3(b) (2 marks): Give two disadvantages of generating electricity using tidal power. (2) 1 2
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q7(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term renewable energy resource. (1)
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q7(b) (4 marks): The diagram shows the design of a HEP station. upper lake tunnel transformer pylon direction of lower lake turbine water flow generator Water flows from the uppe
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q7(c)(i) (1 mark): Give one advantage of generating electricity using the HEP station rather than the wind farm. (1)
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q7(c)(ii) (1 mark): Give one disadvantage of generating electricity using the HEP station rather than the wind farm. (1)
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q7(c)(iii) (3 marks): The HEP station has an electric pump that can pump water from the lower lake back to the upper lake. The pump can be powered using electricity generated by the
- June 2024 (R), Paper 2, Q6(a) (4 marks): Photograph 1 shows a solar farm in the United Kingdom and photograph 2 shows a geothermal power station in Iceland. Photograph 1 Photograph 2 (Source: © Marcin
- June 2024 (R), Paper 2, Q6(b)(i) (3 marks): The student varies the distance between the solar cell and the lamp and measures the output voltage of the solar cell at each distance. The student’s results ar
- June 2024 (R), Paper 2, Q6(b)(ii) (1 mark): Give a control variable for the student’s investigation. (1)
- June 2024 (R), Paper 2, Q6(b)(iii) (2 marks): The student states that the solar cell could be used as a power source for the lamp. They suggest that this would work if • the solar cell is connected directly
- June 2023 (R), Paper 2, Q2(a) (1 mark): Natural gas can be burned to generate electricity. Name the energy store that decreases when natural gas is burned. (1)
- June 2023 (R), Paper 2, Q2(b) (4 marks): Burning natural gas and the movement of water waves can both be used to generate electricity. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods of g
- January 2022, Paper 2, Q7(a) (4 marks): Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using hydroelectric power stations compared with wind farms for large-scale electricity production. (4)
- January 2022, Paper 2, Q7(b) (3 marks): Describe the energy transfers that are involved in generating electricity in a hydroelectric power station. (3)
- January 2022 (R), Paper 2, Q1(a)(i) (4 marks): Complete the table by placing one tick () in each row to show which energy store decreases. (4)
- January 2022 (R), Paper 2, Q1(a)(ii) (1 mark): State which method of generating electricity in the table does not use a renewable energy resource. (1)
- January 2022 (R), Paper 2, Q1(b) (2 marks): State two disadvantages of using wind turbines to generate electricity. (2) 1 2
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): State two advantages of generating electricity using hydroelectric power stations. (2) 1 2
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): State which energy store of the water decreases as the water flows from the reservoir to the river. (1)
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(b)(ii) (1 mark): How is energy transferred from the dam to homes and factories in China? (1) A by heating B by radiation C electrically D mechanically
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(c)(iv) (1 mark): Suggest why the Three Gorges Dam does not always operate at its maximum output power. (1)
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(a)(i) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term non‑renewable. (1)
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(a)(ii) (2 marks): Determine the percentage of electrical power generated using the non‑renewable energy resources shown on the bar chart. (2) percentage = %
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(b) (2 marks): In 2018, the USA generated more than half of its electrical power by burning fossil fuels. Explain one way that burning fossil fuels can be harmful to the envir
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(c)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the mean electrical power output from solar energy resources. (2) mean electrical power output = W
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): The mean total electrical power output of the USA in 2018 was 4.76 × 1011 W. A typical solar farm generates 250 W of electrical power for every 1.0 m2 of land a
- January 2021, Paper 2, Q4(c)(iii) (3 marks): The total land area of the USA is 9.83 × 1012 m2. Discuss whether the USA could generate all of its electrical power using solar energy resources. (3)
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q4(a) (4 marks): Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using solar power rather than fossil fuels to generate electricity. (4)
- November 2020 (R), Paper 2, Q5(a)(ii) (1 mark): How is energy transferred through space from the Sun to the Earth? (1) A by heating B by radiation C electrically D mechanically
- November 2020 (R), Paper 2, Q5(b)(i) (3 marks): The total area of the solar panels is 15 m2. Each 1.0 m2 of the solar panels receives 1000 J of energy per second from the Sun. Show that the total energy trans
- January 2020, Paper 2, Q1(a) (3 marks): The table lists some methods of generating electricity using energy resources. Place ticks () in the table to show if each method uses a renewable energy resou
- January 2020, Paper 2, Q1(b)(i) (1 mark): How is energy transferred from the Sun to a solar cell? (1) A by heating B by radiation C electrically D mechanically
- January 2020, Paper 2, Q1(b)(ii) (1 mark): State one disadvantage of using solar cells to generate electricity. (1)
- June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q1(a)(i) (1 mark): The power station burns a fossil fuel in the furnace. Give an example of a fossil fuel. (1)
- June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q1(a)(ii) (1 mark): Which stage of the power station transfers energy from a chemical store to a thermal store? (1) A condenser B furnace and boiler C generator D turbines
- June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q1(a)(iii) (1 mark): Which stage of the power station transfers energy electrically from a kinetic energy store? (1) A condenser B furnace and boiler C generator D turbines
- June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q1(b) (4 marks): Electricity can also be generated by solar farms. (Source: © Zoonar GmbH/Alamy) Energy is transferred from the Sun to the solar farm by radiation. The solar far
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