Work and power: Edexcel International GCSE Physics questions

Every Edexcel International GCSE Physics exam question on Work and power (specification points 4.11–4.17), 2019–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

All 66 questions on Work and power, as a list

June 2025, Paper 1, Q6(a) (1 mark): Give a reason why the times recorded may not be accurate. (1)
June 2025, Paper 1, Q6(b)(i) (3 marks): Student B has a mass of 67 kg. Show that student B gains about 3000 J of energy in her gravitational store when she runs up the set of steps. (3)
June 2025, Paper 1, Q6(b)(ii) (2 marks): The table shows the times recorded for student B. Time in s 4.28 4.95 4.65 Calculate the mean time from this data. Give your answer to three significant figures
June 2025, Paper 1, Q6(b)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the mean power of student B transferring energy to her gravitational store as she runs up the steps. (2) mean power = W
June 2025, Paper 1, Q6(c) (4 marks): The students extend their investigation by calculating the power for students of different masses running up the steps. The graph shows their results. 1000 900
June 2025, Paper 1, Q11(a)(iii) (4 marks): The electron gains 1.0 × 10–16 J of energy in its kinetic store when it accelerates from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. Calculate the speed o
June 2025 (R), Paper 1, Q11(a) (4 marks): Calculate the energy in the kinetic store of the ball. Give your answer to 3 significant figures. (4) energy in kinetic store = J
June 2025 (R), Paper 2, Q3(c)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the energy transferred from the gravitational store of the water when 1.0 kg of water flows through the turbine shaft. Use the formula change in gravi
June 2025 (R), Paper 2, Q3(c)(ii) (3 marks): The tidal power station has a maximum power output of 240 000 kW when water falls through a height of 8.0 m. Calculate the mass of water flowing through the tur
November 2024, Paper 1, Q2(a)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking kinetic energy, mass and speed. (1)
November 2024, Paper 1, Q2(a)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the athlete’s kinetic energy at a speed of 4.5 m/s. (2) kinetic energy = J
November 2024, Paper 1, Q2(a)(iii) (1 mark): At the maximum height of the jump, the athlete has a speed of 0 m/s. State the increase in the amount of energy in the athlete’s gravitational potential energy
November 2024, Paper 1, Q2(a)(iv) (1 mark): State the formula linking gravitational potential energy, mass, gravitational field strength and height. (1)
November 2024, Paper 1, Q2(a)(v) (3 marks): Calculate the maximum height of the athlete’s jump. (3) height = m
June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(c)(i) (2 marks): The force is applied over a distance that is equal to a quarter of the circumference of a circle. The circle has a radius of 15 cm. Calculate the distance over
June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(c)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the work done by the force as the wrench is turned through a quarter of the circumference of the circle. (3) work done = J
June 2024 (R), Paper 2, Q5(d) (4 marks): A collision is considered elastic if the total kinetic energy before the collision is equal to the total kinetic energy after the collision. Using data from the
November 2023, Paper 1, Q12(b)(ii) (5 marks): The difference in height between point A and point B is 0.21 m. The mass of the marble is 5.5 g. The marble leaves the marble run at point B with a speed of 0.7
November 2023, Paper 2, Q4(a) (3 marks): The input power to the transformer is 16 W. The transformer is used for 2.5 hours. Calculate the energy transferred to the transformer during this time. (3) ene
June 2023, Paper 2, Q3(a)(ii) (1 mark): State the formula linking kinetic energy, mass and speed. (1)
June 2023, Paper 2, Q3(a)(iii) (3 marks): Calculate the speed of an electron when it has 1.3 × 10–15 J of kinetic energy. The mass of an electron is 9.1 × 10–31 kg. (3) speed = m / s
June 2023 (R), Paper 1, Q3(a)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking gravitational potential energy, mass, gravitational field strength (g) and height. (1)
June 2023 (R), Paper 1, Q3(a)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the height the load is lifted. (3) height = m
June 2023 (R), Paper 1, Q3(a)(iii) (1 mark): State the amount of useful work done on the load by the motor when the load is lifted through this height. (1) work done = J
January 2023, Paper 1, Q3(a)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking work done, force and distance moved in the direction of the force. (1)
January 2023, Paper 1, Q3(a)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the force that the rope exerts on the truck. (3) force = N
January 2023, Paper 2, Q3(c)(i) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term power. (1)
January 2023, Paper 2, Q3(c)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the minimum time taken for Kori to transfer 6.47 × 1014 J of energy. (3) minimum time = s
January 2023 (R), Paper 1, Q9(c)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the kinetic energy (KE) of the alpha particle. (3) KE = J
January 2023 (R), Paper 1, Q9(c)(ii) (1 mark): State the work done on the alpha particle when its speed is reduced to 0 m/s by the sheet of paper. (1) work done = J
June 2022, Paper 1, Q8(c)(i) (1 mark): State the useful work done on the car. (1) work done = J
June 2022, Paper 1, Q8(c)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the mean accelerating force acting on the car. (3) accelerating force = N
June 2022, Paper 1, Q10(a) (3 marks): Calculate the speed of the car when it has fallen 18 m. (3) speed = m / s
June 2022, Paper 1, Q10(b)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking kinetic energy, mass and speed. (1)
June 2022, Paper 1, Q10(b)(ii) (2 marks): The mass of the car and its passengers is 2.1 tonnes. Calculate the kinetic energy of the car when it has fallen 18 m. [1 tonne = 1000 kg] (2) kinetic energy =
June 2022, Paper 2, Q1(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term power. (1)
January 2022, Paper 2, Q5(a) (1 mark): State the formula linking gravitational potential energy (GPE), mass, gravitational field strength (g) and height. (1)
January 2022, Paper 2, Q5(b) (3 marks): The ball has a mass of 14 g. Show that when the ball reaches a height of 29 cm above the bottom of the ramp, the GPE gained by the ball is about 4 × 10−2 J. (3)
January 2022, Paper 2, Q5(c) (3 marks): At the bottom of the ramp, the 14 g ball has a kinetic energy (KE) of 5.1 × 10−2 J. Calculate the speed of the ball at the bottom of the ramp. (3) speed = m/s
January 2022, Paper 2, Q5(d) (2 marks): The ball is stationary when it reaches the top of the ramp. There is a difference between the KE of the ball at the bottom of the ramp and the GPE of the ball a
January 2022 (R), Paper 2, Q4(a) (3 marks): The electric motor can only operate at maximum power for part of each lap of the race. The electric motor has a maximum power output of 1.2 × 105 W. The electri
November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(c)(i) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term power. (1)
November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(c)(ii) (3 marks): The mean energy transferred by the dam each day is 9.7 × 1014 J. Calculate the mean output power of the dam. (3) mean output power = W
November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(c)(iii) (1 mark): The maximum output power is 22 500 MW. Which of these is the same as 22 500 MW? (1) A 22 500 000 J B 22 500 000 J/s C 22 500 000 000 J D 22 500 000 000 J/s
June 2021, Paper 2, Q7(a) (3 marks): The student releases the blocks. The kinetic energy (KE) store of the small block is 0.29 J when the blocks are no longer in contact. Show that the speed of the
January 2021 (R), Paper 1, Q11(a)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking work done, force and distance moved in the direction of the force. (1)
January 2021 (R), Paper 1, Q11(a)(ii) (2 marks): The student pulls the block 0.89 m along the ramp with a force of 26 N. Show that the work done on the block by the 26 N force is about 23 J. (2)
January 2021 (R), Paper 1, Q11(a)(iii) (3 marks): The block has a mass of 1.3 kg and moves vertically upwards 0.11 m. Calculate the increase in the gravitational potential energy (GPE) store of the block betwee
January 2021 (R), Paper 1, Q11(a)(iv) (2 marks): Explain why the work done to move the block along the ramp is greater than the increase in the GPE store of the block. (2)
January 2021 (R), Paper 1, Q11(b) (4 marks): The student suggests it is better to use a less steep ramp to raise the block through the same vertical height. Discuss an advantage and a disadvantage of using
January 2021 (R), Paper 2, Q7(c)(i) (3 marks): A droplet hits bucket A with a speed of 3.8 m/s. Calculate the kinetic energy of the droplet when it hits bucket A. [mass of droplet = 6.2 × 10–9 kg] (3) kineti
November 2020 (R), Paper 1, Q3(c)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking kinetic energy, mass and speed. (1)
November 2020 (R), Paper 1, Q3(c)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the energy in the kinetic store of the meteor just before the meteor exploded. (2) energy in kinetic store = J
November 2020 (R), Paper 1, Q8(c) (2 marks): Show that the gravitational store of the 1.0 kg mass increases by 5.0 J when it is lifted through a distance of 50 cm. (2)
January 2020 (R), Paper 1, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking work done, force and distance moved. (1)
January 2020 (R), Paper 1, Q3(b)(ii) (3 marks): The truck has 590 000 J of energy in its kinetic energy (KE) store before the driver applies the brakes. The braking force does work on the truck to reduce the
January 2020 (R), Paper 2, Q4(a)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the increase in the hammer’s gravitational potential energy (GPE) store when the hammer is raised through a height of 0.95 m above the metal. [GPE gai
January 2020 (R), Paper 2, Q4(a)(ii) (2 marks): The metalworker moves the hammer down to strike the metal. The hammer must have at least 21 J of energy in its kinetic energy (KE) store as it hits the metal to
January 2020 (R), Paper 2, Q4(b)(i) (4 marks): Calculate the velocity of the hammer just before it strikes the metal. [KE of hammer = 21 J] (4) velocity = m/s
June 2019, Paper 1, Q12(a) (3 marks): The diagram shows a ball of dough, of mass 580 g, held at a height of 92 cm above the floor. dough O. 92 cm Calculate the increase in gravitational potential en
June 2019, Paper 2, Q6(a)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the energy transferred from the dog to the water by heating in 22 minutes. (3) energy = J
June 2019, Paper 2, Q6(a)(ii) (1 mark): State an assumption you have made when calculating the energy transferred. (1)
June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q5(a)(ii) (3 marks): The stearic acid gains 39 kJ of energy during the time it is heated to its melting point. Calculate the mean (average) power of the heater. Give a unit with you
June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q8(a)(i) (1 mark): State the formula linking work done, force and distance moved in the direction of the force. (1)
June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q8(a)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the work done on the trapped air when the piston is quickly pushed down. (2) work done = J
June 2019 (R), Paper 2, Q8(a)(iii) (1 mark): State the maximum amount of energy that could be transferred to the trapped air. (1) energy transferred = J

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