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AQA GCSE · Question 02.3 · Energy
A nuclear power station has a power output of 500 MW.
Calculate the energy output in 3600 s.
Give your answer in J.
A nuclear power station has a power output of 500 MW.
Calculate the energy output in 3600 s.
Give your answer in J.
How to approach this question
1. Identify the given values: Power (P) and time (t).
2. Convert the power from megawatts (MW) to watts (W). Remember that "Mega" means 1,000,000.
3. Use the equation from the previous question: E = P × t.
4. Substitute the values for P (in watts) and t (in seconds) into the equation and calculate E.
5. Ensure your final answer is in joules (J).
Full Answer
The problem asks for the energy output (E) given the power (P) and time (t).
The formula linking these is E = P × t.
Step 1: Convert the power to standard units. The power is given as 500 MW. The standard unit for power is the Watt (W). The prefix "M" (Mega) means 10⁶ or 1,000,000.
So, P = 500 MW = 500 × 10⁶ W = 5.0 × 10⁸ W.
Step 2: The time is given in seconds (s), which is the standard unit.
t = 3600 s.
Step 3: Substitute these values into the equation.
E = P × t
E = (5.0 × 10⁸ W) × 3600 s
E = 1,800,000,000,000 J
E = 1.8 × 10¹² J.
Common mistakes
✗ Forgetting to convert megawatts to watts. This is the most common error.
✗ Using the wrong form of the equation.
✗ Errors in calculation or writing the answer in standard form.
Practice the full AQA GCSE Physics Higher Tier Paper 1
20 questions · hints · full answers · grading
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