England · Energy · Unit EN-U1

Energy stores and transfers

A proposed unit with 3 lectures, independent practice and a unit assessment.

Unit scope

Filters show lectures with relevant core content. Mixed lectures retain clearly labelled Higher/separate extensions; those extensions are not required on other routes. Difficulty is a design rating, not a GCSE grade.

Lectures

EN-U1 · Energy stores and transfers

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EN-01 · EN-U1 · Planned

Where energy is stored

  • ScopeShared
  • Difficulty1 / 4 · proposed
  • Time20–25 min · estimated
  • StatusPlanned

Learning objectives

Identify the stores that change in five situations; define a system and justify its boundary.

8463 §§4.1.1.1 / 8464 §§6.1.1.1

DfE single-science pp.34–35 / Combined pp.29–30. Evidence checked 30 September–1 October 2026. Skills: WS1.2,4.1.

Needs firstPreflight P0

Explanation

Choose a system before naming stores. A lifted load and Earth interact gravitationally; a moving cart has kinetic energy. A battery supplies energy from its chemical store. The same object can participate in several stores, and only changes matter in a transfer account.

Concepts, equations and units: Chemical, kinetic, thermal/internal, gravitational, elastic, magnetic, electrostatic and nuclear stores; energy E in J. No new equation.

Prediction, demonstration and game exercise

Predict, observe, explain

Predict which stores change when a weight rises, cart moves, spring stretches or battery powers a heater; reveal before/after diagrams.

Planned learner game exercise

Inspect weights, carts, springs and batteries; place store labels on the relevant object or interacting system.

Independent practice

Explain a kettle and upward-thrown ball with before/after store diagrams.

Original practice example · Shared

A battery powers a lamp. Name a store that decreases and two places energy ends up.

Show working and model answer

Working / reasoning

The battery chemical store decreases; energy transfers electrically to the lamp and then by radiation/heating to surroundings.

Answer

Battery chemical energy decreases; lamp and surroundings gain internal energy, with radiation transferring energy outward.

Exit check and success criteria

Correct four of five store assignments and state a defensible system boundary.

During practice, compare the prediction with evidence and give an error-specific prompt. The exit item uses a fresh context or fresh values, answered independently.

Misconceptions, practical links and mastery

Check these misconceptions

Electricity, light and sound are not energy stores; energy is not a material fluid.

Practical preparation

Optional low-risk demonstrations; not an RP.

Virtual preparation and revision only. Required hands-on activities and school records remain separate.

Proposed mastery

0: not yet evidenced. 1: supported. 2: independent exit criteria met. 3: successful changed-context transfer. Advance at 2; revisit with fresh retrieval. These are not GCSE grades.

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EN-02 · EN-U1 · Planned

Transfer pathways

  • ScopeShared
  • Difficulty1 / 4 · proposed
  • Time20–25 min · estimated
  • StatusPlanned

Learning objectives

Distinguish storage from transfer; trace two complete transfers through a device.

8463 §§4.1.1.1,4.1.2.1 / 8464 §§6.1.1.1,6.1.2.1

DfE single-science pp.34–35 / Combined pp.29–30. Evidence checked 30 September–1 October 2026. Skills: WS1.2,3.6,4.1.

Needs firstEN-01

Explanation

Stores describe how energy is associated with a system before and after a change. Pathways describe how it crosses between systems. A motor does mechanical work on a load; a circuit does electrical work on a heater. Radiation transfers energy from an emitting source to an absorber.

Concepts, equations and units: Mechanical work, electrical work, heating and radiation pathways; J. Sound can transfer energy by waves.

Prediction, demonstration and game exercise

Predict, observe, explain

Show a lift, lamp and heater; add arrows only while transfer occurs; explain heating as transfer caused by temperature difference.

Planned learner game exercise

Connect labelled arrows between stores through a lift, lamp and heater; include surroundings.

Independent practice

Write two short causal explanations and identify where the battery chemical store decreases.

Original practice example · Shared

A battery drives a motor lifting a load. Trace the useful transfer.

Show working and model answer

Working / reasoning

Chemical store of battery → electrical work to motor → mechanical work → gravitational store of load–Earth system.

Answer

The useful endpoint is an increased gravitational energy store; surroundings also gain dissipated energy.

Exit check and success criteria

Two accurate transfer chains with both endpoints and a valid pathway.

During practice, compare the prediction with evidence and give an error-specific prompt. The exit item uses a fresh context or fresh values, answered independently.

Misconceptions, practical links and mastery

Check these misconceptions

A lamp does not store light energy; energy transfer is not charge transfer.

Practical preparation

Optional battery lamp/heater observation; safe school equipment.

Virtual preparation and revision only. Required hands-on activities and school records remain separate.

Proposed mastery

0: not yet evidenced. 1: supported. 2: independent exit criteria met. 3: successful changed-context transfer. Advance at 2; revisit with fresh retrieval. These are not GCSE grades.

Full lecture page →

EN-03 · EN-U1 · Planned

Conservation and dissipation

  • ScopeShared
  • Difficulty2 / 4 · proposed
  • Time25–30 min · estimated
  • StatusPlanned

Learning objectives

Account for total energy in a closed system; explain dissipation and lubrication.

8463 §§4.1.2.1 / 8464 §§6.1.2.1

DfE single-science pp.34–35 / Combined pp.29–30. Evidence checked 30 September–1 October 2026. Skills: WS1.2,3.2,3.6; MS1c.

Needs firstEN-02

Explanation

A complete closed-system account includes the track and surrounding air, not just the cart. Friction reduces the cart’s mechanical energy while increasing internal energy elsewhere. Dissipation spreads energy into less useful stores; it does not violate conservation.

Concepts, equations and units: Energy balance in J; E_before = E_after for the specified closed system; dissipated energy remains stored less usefully.

Prediction, demonstration and game exercise

Predict, observe, explain

Predict a frictionless/frictional ramp comparison; reveal cart plus track plus surroundings accounting.

Planned learner game exercise

Run carts on selectable surfaces; complete a 100 J ledger for kinetic, thermal and other transfers.

Independent practice

Repair an incomplete Sankey-style diagram; explain the effect of lubrication.

Original practice example · Shared

A cart starts with 100 J of GPE and ends with 65 J of KE. Account for the difference in a closed cart–track–surroundings system.

Show working and model answer

Working / reasoning

100 − 65 = 35 J. Include internal energy and any other outgoing pathway destinations inside the chosen system.

Answer

35 J is redistributed into other stores, chiefly internal energy in this model; total remains 100 J.

Exit check and success criteria

Ledger totals balance and explanation names the surroundings rather than destroying energy.

During practice, compare the prediction with evidence and give an error-specific prompt. The exit item uses a fresh context or fresh values, answered independently.

Misconceptions, practical links and mastery

Check these misconceptions

Wasted energy disappears; a stopped cart has no energy; conservation guarantees useful recovery.

Practical preparation

Optional ramp comparison; not an RP.

Virtual preparation and revision only. Required hands-on activities and school records remain separate.

Proposed mastery

0: not yet evidenced. 1: supported. 2: independent exit criteria met. 3: successful changed-context transfer. Advance at 2; revisit with fresh retrieval. These are not GCSE grades.

Full lecture page →

Area capstone

Sources and full programme

Sources checked 30 September–1 October 2026. Specifications govern content; textbooks supplement it. England has no single prescribed Physics course book. The full planning document includes sourced comparisons of Collins separate Physics and Trilogy books, Hodder/Hachette Physics and Oxford Physics listings, with access/approval limitations.

Download the complete Markdown programme and coverage matrix

A subsection map is proposed coverage. Clause-level educator review, item moderation, model validation and hands-on provision remain release gates. No all-board alignment or exam-board endorsement is claimed.