NCEA Level 1 AS92047 Flashcards for Energy Concepts
Use measurements, energy diagrams and supplied formulas to explain mechanical, thermal and electrical systems in NCEA Level 1 AS92047.
About this deck
A sled slows on rough ground even though its height stays the same. Where does its kinetic energy go? These 56 flashcards help you answer questions like that for NCEA Level 1 Physics, Earth and Space Science standard AS92047.
Start with system boundaries, observable changes and simple energy transfers. Then practise choosing an energy model from a scenario, working from supplied data to a result, reading graphs and energy diagrams, and explaining what changes when you vary one quantity. The deck moves from short observations and one-step calculations to explanations that connect evidence, an energy concept and a practical consequence.
The mechanical cards cover movement, lifting, work and friction. The thermal cards cover heating, cooling, phase changes and insulation. The electrical cards cover simple circuits, resistance, power and energy use. The assessment supplies the necessary formulas. The cards focus on applying them in context, so they skip stand-alone symbol drills and full mock papers.
Reviewed for the 2026 assessment against AS92047 version 3. The scenarios and explanations are original. The CC0 label applies to the original content and cover to the extent applicable rights exist.
This is an independent, unofficial study resource with no affiliation with or endorsement by NZQA. The deck contains original exercises and uses no copied exam questions, marking schedules or curriculum text. See the official NZQA requirements.
Cards in this deck
Card 1
Question
A warm bowl of soup cools on a bench. If your system contains only the soup, where should you draw its boundary?
Answer
Around the soup. The bowl and room are outside that boundary, so energy transferred from the soup to either one leaves the system.
Card 2
Question
A seed pod falls and speeds up. Which energy changes can you infer for the seed pod and Earth together?
Answer
Gravitational potential energy decreases as height falls. The pod's kinetic energy increases as its speed rises.
Card 3
Question
A solid metal sample goes from 16 °C to 29 °C. What temperature change should you report as evidence?
Answer
Its temperature rose by 13 °C. Subtract 16 °C from 29 °C.
Card 4
Question
A battery powers a small reading lamp. What energy pathway would you show with arrows from the battery to the room?
Answer
Chemical energy in the battery → electrical energy transferred to the lamp → light and thermal energy transferred to the surroundings.
Card 5
Question
One machine transfers 60 J in 3 s and another transfers 60 J in 6 s. Which has greater average power?
Answer
The first machine. It transfers the same energy in half the time, so its average power is twice as large, 20 W compared with 10 W.
Card 6
Question
A hoist raises a 3 kg tool bag by 2 m. Use g = 10 N/kg. How much gravitational potential energy does the bag–Earth system gain?
Use ΔEₚ = mgΔh.
Answer
60 J. Multiply mass, gravitational field strength and vertical rise. That gives 3 × 10 × 2 = 60 J.
Card 7
Question
One end of a metal rod touches a hot surface. The other end warms up. What mechanism moves energy through the rod?
Answer
Conduction. Energy passes along the solid from its hotter end towards its cooler end.
Card 8
Question
A battery, switch and lamp are connected in one loop. What switch position would you mark on a circuit diagram to explain why the lamp goes out?
Answer
An open switch. The break in the loop stops current through the lamp.
Card 9
Question
A 2 kg glider slides at 3 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?
Use Eₖ = ½mv².
Answer
9 J. Half the mass times speed squared gives ½ × 2 × 3² = 9 J.
Card 10
Question
A solid block has mass 0.40 kg and specific heat capacity 500 J/(kg·°C). Its temperature rises by 12 °C. How much energy does it gain?
Use E = mcΔT.
Answer
2,400 J. Use E = mcΔT because the block stays solid. Multiply 0.40 × 500 × 12.
Card 11
Question
A motor lifts a bucket. You want to treat the motor's work as an energy input and the gravitational potential energy gain as a change within the system. What goes inside your boundary?
Answer
The bucket and Earth. Leave the motor outside so its work transfers energy across the boundary.
Card 12
Question
An ohmic resistor has 8 V across it and carries 0.5 A. What is its resistance?
Use V = IR.
Answer
16 Ω. Rearrange V = IR to get R = V ÷ I, then divide 8 V by 0.5 A.
Card 13
Question
A winch pulls a crate 5 m along a level floor with a steady 24 N force parallel to the motion. How much work does the winch do on the crate?
Use W = Fd.
Answer
120 J. Use W = Fd because the force points along the displacement. Multiply 24 N by 5 m.
Card 14
Question
A heater warms room-temperature water at the bottom of a tank. What motion should arrows show for the resulting convection current?
Answer
Warmed water rises and cooler water sinks to replace it. The warmed water is less dense than the cooler water around it.
Card 15
Question
A motor draws 0.30 A from a 12 V supply. How fast does it receive electrical energy?
Use P = VI.
Answer
3.6 W, or 3.6 J per second. Use P = VI and multiply 12 by 0.30.
Card 16
Question
A mixer receives 150 J from a battery. Its useful mixing action accounts for 90 J. How much goes to other outputs if its stored energy stays unchanged?
Answer
60 J. The other outputs account for the difference between the 150 J input and the 90 J useful output.
Card 17
Question
You have E = mcΔT and E = mL. Which applies to a pure solid melting at constant temperature?
Answer
E = mL. The energy goes into the change of state while the temperature stays at the melting point.
Card 18
Question
A climber follows a 7 m route up a wall and gains 4 m in height. Which distance belongs in the change in gravitational potential energy?
Answer
4 m. The change depends on the vertical rise above the starting point.
Card 19
Question
Where should you connect a voltmeter to measure the voltage across a lamp?
Answer
In parallel with the lamp. Connect one voltmeter terminal on each side of the lamp.
Card 20
Question
An infrared heater warms your hand across an evacuated gap. Which heat-transfer mechanism crosses the gap?
Answer
Radiation. Infrared waves can carry energy through a vacuum.
Card 21
Question
A stone drops from rest. Air resistance is negligible. An energy-bar diagram for the stone and Earth shows 30 J of gravitational potential energy at release. How should the total mechanical-energy bar change as the stone falls?
Answer
It should stay at 30 J. The loss of gravitational potential energy is matched by an equal gain in kinetic energy.
Card 22
Question
A fan draws a steady 9 W of electrical power for 2 min. How much electrical energy does it receive?
Use ΔE = Pt.
Answer
1,080 J. Convert 2 min to 120 s, then use ΔE = Pt = 9 × 120.
Card 23
Question
On a graph of cumulative energy transferred against time, line A has twice the slope of line B. What does that tell you about power?
Answer
A transfers energy at twice the rate of B. The slope gives energy per unit time, which is power.
Card 24
Question
Two blocks of equal mass each gain 800 J without changing state. Block A warms by 4 °C and B by 8 °C. Which has greater specific heat capacity?
Answer
Block A. With the same mass and energy gain, its smaller temperature rise means it takes more energy to warm each kilogram by 1 °C.
Card 25
Question
A loaded trolley travels at 2 m/s on one run and 6 m/s on another. Its mass stays the same. How should the two kinetic-energy bars compare?
Answer
The bar for 6 m/s should be nine times as tall. Tripling the speed multiplies kinetic energy by three squared when the mass is fixed.
Card 26
Question
A resistor's voltage–current graph has voltage on the vertical axis and current on the horizontal axis. What does the slope of the straight line through the origin give?
Answer
The resistance. The slope is voltage change divided by current change, equal to V ÷ I for this line through the origin.
Card 27
Question
A 0.15 kg frozen water sample at 0 °C melts completely. Use a latent heat of fusion of 334,000 J/kg. How much energy is absorbed during melting?
Choose from E = mcΔT and E = mL.
Answer
50,100 J. Use E = mL for the change of state. Multiply 0.15 kg by 334,000 J/kg.
Card 28
Question
A sled slows on level rough ground. Its height stays the same. How would you account for the drop in kinetic energy?
Answer
The sled and ground gain internal energy through friction. Some energy can also spread to the surroundings through sound.
Card 29
Question
A battery-driven hoist raises a planter at constant speed. Apart from sound and heating, which energy change belongs at the output end of the hoist's energy diagram?
Answer
An increase in the planter–Earth system's gravitational potential energy. The rising planter keeps the same kinetic energy because its speed is constant.
Card 30
Question
A lamp receives 80 J and emits 16 J as useful light. What fraction of the input is useful, expressed as a percentage?
Answer
20%. Divide the useful light energy by the electrical input, then multiply by 100.
Card 31
Question
A lid is fitted to a dish of warm water. Evaporation is negligible in both cases. How can the lid reduce cooling through the air above the water?
Answer
It reduces heat transfer by convection. Less warm air near the surface can move away and be replaced by cooler room air.
Card 32
Question
A cart moves 4 m while a 6 N friction force acts opposite its motion. How much energy does friction remove from the cart's mechanical energy?
Answer
24 J. Multiply force by distance to get the amount removed. Friction does −24 J of work on the cart because it points against the motion.
Card 33
Question
A resistor is swapped for one with twice the resistance. An ideal supply keeps the voltage across it fixed. How does the current change?
Answer
It halves. At fixed voltage, I = V ÷ R, so doubling the resistance halves the current.
Card 34
Question
A pure substance is heated at constant power and fixed pressure. On its temperature–time graph, a rising line becomes flat as the solid starts to melt. Why can the heater still transfer energy on that flat section?
Answer
The energy changes the state from solid to liquid. The temperature stays at the melting point while the solid and liquid coexist.
Card 35
Question
Two lifts each raise the same load through the same height. Lift A takes 5 s and lift B takes 15 s. How do their average useful powers compare?
Answer
Lift A provides three times the useful power. The lifts give the load the same gravitational potential energy gain, but A does it in one-third of the time.
Card 36
Question
An energy-flow diagram shows 100 J entering a pump, 65 J as useful output and 35 J heating the surroundings. What should the two output arrow widths show if widths represent energy?
Answer
The useful arrow should be wider. Use widths in the ratio 65:35 so the two outputs together have the input arrow's width.
Card 37
Question
At a fixed 6 V, a 12 Ω heating element is replaced by a 6 Ω element. Both are ohmic. How does electrical power change?
Answer
It doubles. The current rises from 0.5 A to 1 A, so P = VI rises from 3 W to 6 W.
Card 38
Question
A liquid sample of mass 0.20 kg receives 800 J. Its specific heat capacity is 2,000 J/(kg·°C). Assume no phase change or energy loss. How much does its temperature rise?
Choose from E = mcΔT and E = mL.
Answer
2 °C. Rearrange E = mcΔT to get ΔT = 800 ÷ (0.20 × 2,000).
Card 39
Question
Two ramps of different lengths bring the same crate to the same raised platform. The crate starts from the same floor each time. How do the gravitational potential energy gains compare?
Answer
They are equal. The mass, gravitational field strength and vertical rise are the same for both routes.
Card 40
Question
A pump receives 360 J from a supply while drawing a steady 12 W. How long was it running?
Answer
30 s. Divide the energy transferred by the power. That gives 360 J ÷ 12 W = 30 s.
Card 41
Question
A flask has an evacuated gap between its walls. Why might adding a shiny low-emissivity surface still reduce heat loss?
Answer
Radiation can cross the vacuum. The low-emissivity surface emits less infrared at the same temperature, reducing net radiative transfer across the gap.
Card 42
Question
A box sliding down a rough ramp loses 240 J of gravitational potential energy and gains 180 J of kinetic energy. Assume sound is negligible. What happened to the other 60 J?
Answer
It mainly increased the internal energy of the box and ramp. Mechanical energy fell by 60 J, and friction warmed the surfaces as they rubbed together.
Card 43
Question
Two ohmic heating wires are tested separately at the same current. Wire A has twice the resistance of wire B. Which receives more power?
Answer
Wire A receives twice as much power. At fixed current, twice the resistance needs twice the voltage, and P = VI doubles.
Card 44
Question
Pump A uses 200 J to give water 120 J of gravitational potential energy. Pump B uses 300 J to give water 150 J. Which uses its input more efficiently?
Answer
Pump A. It transfers 60% of its input to the water as useful energy. Pump B transfers 50%.
Card 45
Question
Two mugs hold equal masses of water at 80 °C. Assume negligible evaporation. After 5 min, one is at 68 °C and the other at 74 °C. What does this show about their average net energy loss per second?
Answer
The water that reached 68 °C lost energy at twice the average rate of the other sample. For equal masses and specific heat capacities, its 12 °C drop means twice the energy loss of the 6 °C drop over the same time.
Card 46
Question
A bead starts from rest and slides down a smooth wire. Air resistance is negligible. It has lost 6 J of gravitational potential energy at point A and 10 J at point B. What would you draw for its kinetic-energy bars?
Answer
A 6 J bar at A and a 10 J bar at B. Each bar equals the gravitational potential energy lost by that point.
Card 47
Question
Two lamps are connected to an ideal battery on separate parallel branches. One lamp's branch opens. Why can the other lamp stay on?
Answer
Its branch still makes a complete loop through the battery, so current can still flow through that lamp.
Card 48
Question
A 0.10 kg sample of ice at 0 °C melts, then the water warms. Use a latent heat of fusion of 334,000 J/kg, a liquid specific heat capacity of 4,200 J/(kg·°C) and a 10 °C rise. How much energy does the sample gain in total?
The available formulas are E = mcΔT and E = mL.
Answer
37,600 J. Melting takes 33,400 J from mL. Warming the resulting water takes another 4,200 J from mcΔT.
Card 49
Question
A winch pulls two identical crates one at a time with the same force along the direction of travel. Crate A moves twice as far as crate B. How does the work done by the winch compare?
Answer
The winch does twice as much work on A. With the same force parallel to the motion, W = Fd scales with distance.
Card 50
Question
At 2 V a component carries 0.20 A. At 4 V it carries 0.30 A. What evidence rules out one constant resistance over these readings?
Answer
The V ÷ I ratio changes. It is 10 Ω at the first reading and about 13.3 Ω at the second, so the data do not fit one straight line through the origin.
Card 51
Question
A bare metal tray and a foam-lined tray each hold an identical warm sample. Energy leaves mainly through the base. Why does the foam-lined tray keep its sample warm longer?
Answer
The foam slows conduction through the base. Less energy leaves per second, so the sample's temperature falls more slowly.
Card 52
Question
A 1 kg toy car and a 2 kg toy car have equal kinetic energies. How does the lighter car's speed compare?
Answer
The lighter car is about 1.41 times as fast. With half the mass, its speed squared must be twice as large to give the same kinetic energy.
Card 53
Question
An element takes 2 A at 9 V for 40 s. How much electrical energy enters the element?
The available formulas are ΔE = Pt and P = VI.
Answer
720 J. Find power from P = VI = 18 W, then multiply by 40 s.
Card 54
Question
Two solid blocks have the same specific heat capacity and absorb energy at the same constant rate with negligible losses. Block B has twice the mass of block A. How do the slopes of their temperature–time graphs compare?
Answer
Block B's slope is half as steep. Each block gains the same energy per second, so doubling the mass halves the temperature rise per second.
Card 55
Question
A crane adds 600 J of gravitational potential energy in 3 s. The motor receives 300 W of electrical power throughout. What fraction of the input power becomes useful lifting power?
Answer
Two-thirds, about 67%. The useful output is 600 J ÷ 3 s = 200 W, and 200 W ÷ 300 W gives the fraction.
Card 56
Question
A room heater sits near floor level. Warm air gathers near the ceiling. How can a small fan reduce the temperature difference between floor and ceiling?
Answer
It mixes the warm upper air with the cooler air below. Moving the air redistributes thermal energy around the room.
56 cards
NCEA Level 1 AS92047 Flashcards for Energy Concepts
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