Author

Leander
Expertise
Physics
The Sun
Extended tier only

 The Sun transfers energy to Earth by electromagnetic radiation

 Most of our energy resources on Earth come indirectly from the Sun:
o The Sun heats up the atmosphere, creating wind and producing waves
o Water evaporated by the Sun falls as rain, filling up reservoirs
o Plants grown using sunlight form the basis for fuels – both biofuels and
fossil fuels
 Some energy resources, however, do not come from the Sun
 These include:
o Geothermal – this comes from heat produced in the Earth’s core
o Nuclear – this comes from elements which make up a small proportion of
the Earth’s crust
o Tidal – this comes (mainly) from the gravitational attraction of the Moon

The Sun
Energy from the Sun is the source of the energy stored in many of Earth's energy
resources

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Solar cells
 The energy from the Sun that falls on the Earth is transferred by radiation
o Mostly visible light and infrared radiation
 The amount of energy transferred from the Sun to the Earth each hour is equal
to the energy use of the world for one year!
 Therefore, scientists are working hard to find methods of harnessing this energy
o Solar energy has a low energy density, which means large collecting
devices are required
 o Collecting solar energy has been expensive (due to the equipment
required) and inefficient
o Although improved technology has improved efficiency, greater
demand has lowered costs

 Solar cells transfer energy from sunlight and produce a current, therefore
generating electricity
o Solar cells, sometimes called photovoltaic cells, are made of
semiconducting materials
o A number of cells connected together can supply electricity to homes,
small-scale businesses, communication devices and satellites
o Energy generated from solar cells can be stored in batteries for later use

Solar cells

Solar cells use energy from sunlight to produce electricity

Advantages of solar cells

 Solar energy is a renewable resource

o A renewable resource is one which can be replenished at the same rate
as it is used
  In many places on Earth sunlight is a reliable energy resource (this means that
the sun shines most of the time)
 Solar farms produce no greenhouse gases or pollution
 Solar energy can be generated in remote places where they don't have
electricity
o For example to power solar street signs in rural areas
 Solar cells are readily available
 Solar farms are relatively quick and cheap to build, and inexpensive to run
compared to power stations
 Solar cells can be placed on top of buildings

Disadvantages of solar cells

 Solar farms need to be large scale to produce large amounts of electricity

 In many places on Earth, sunlight is not a reliable energy resource (there are
not enough sunshine-hours to justify the set-up costs)
 Solar cells remain fairly expensive for households to install and maintain (they
must be kept clean to work at full capacity)
 Each solar cell only produces a small amount of electricity so solar farms are
needed to produce large amounts of electricity
 Solar cells are relatively inefficient (around 20% - 40%)

Solar panels
 Useful energy may be obtained from infrared and other electromagnetic waves
from the Sun using solar panels

 Solar panels transfer energy from sunlight to the thermal store of the solar
panels which is used to heat water in the pipes
o Solar panels can be used to warm domestic water supplies
 This can reduce the cost of producing hot water since it is heated
partially by the solar panels
o Solar furnaces consist of large curved mirrors that focus the sun's rays
on to a small area
 These can be used to boil water, generating enough steam to turn
turbines and generate electricity in a power station

Solar panel
 Solar panels use energy from sunlight to heat water

 Water is stored in a water tank and pumped through small pipes running
through the solar panel
 Infrared radiation from the Sun heats the water in the pipes as it flows through
them
  The water returns to the tank at a higher temperature
 Water may still need to be heated further to reach the desired temperature (eg.
for a shower)

Advantages of solar panels

 Solar energy is a renewable resource

 In many places on Earth, sunlight is a reliable energy resource (this means that
the sun shines most of the time)
 Solar panels produce no greenhouse gases or pollution once they are
operating
 Solar panels can cut the cost of energy bills for households
 Solar panels can be placed on the roofs of buildings

Disadvantages of solar panels

 Solar furnaces need to be large scale to produce high temperatures

 Energy is still needed to heat water to a higher temperature in domestic
households
 In many places on Earth, sunlight is not a reliable energy resource (the sun
doesn't shine regularly enough to justify the set-up costs)

Wind energy
 Energy from the wind can be used to generate electricity
 The wind turns a turbine, which turns a generator, which generates electricity
 Energy from the kinetic store of the wind is transferred
o mechanically to the kinetic store of the turbine
o which is transferred mechanically to the kinetic store of the generator
o which is transferred electrically to the National Grid

Wind turbines
 Wind turbines use energy from the wind to generate electricity

Advantages of wind power

 Wind is a renewable resource

 Wind turbines produce no greenhouse gases or pollution
 Wind farms are relatively inexpensive to build and cheap to run
 Wind turbines have a relatively high efficiency of 50%
 The land used for wind farms can still be used for farming
 Off-shore wind farms can be built in coastal areas
 Wind turbines do not use fuel, so there are no fuel costs

Disadvantages of wind power

 Wind power is not reliable because the wind does not blow constantly
 Turbines are built facing a specific direction so they only work when the wind is
blowing in that specific direction
 Some people consider wind farms to be visual pollution , so there can be local
opposition to the construction of wind farms in some towns and cities
 Each turbine only produces a small amount of electricity, so wind farms are
needed for large scale electricity generation
 High-voltage power lines are required to transmit the electricity to the National
Grid

Exam Tip

In your IGCSE exam, you may be required to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of energy resources. You may also need to apply your understanding of
energy resources to unfamiliar scenarios, for example, by suggesting which type of
energy resource would be best for a particular community. Make sure you can justify
your choices.

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Beth
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 This website is soooo useful and I can’t ever thank you enough for organising
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know and are so easy to understand. I actually enjoy revising! It makes me feel
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 Absolutely brilliant, both my girls used it for A levels and GCSE. It's saves on
paper copies, also beneficial topic questions ranked from easy to hard. It's
removed a lot of stress from the exams.

Sameera
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Author
Leander
Expertise
Physics
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Fossil fuels
 Fossil fuels are:
o Coal
o Natural gas (mostly methane)
o Crude oil which is refined into petrol, diesel, and other fuels

Fossil fuels
 Fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas

 Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of plants and animals
 Chemical energy stored in fossil fuels originally came from sunlight
o Energy from the sun was transferred to the chemical energy store of
plants by photosynthesis (plants use energy from sunlight to make food)
o Animals ate the plants and the energy was transferred to their chemical
store

Advantages of fossil fuels

 Fossil fuel power stations are extremely reliable and the infrastructure is well
established in most countries
 Fossil fuel power stations are extremely responsive (they can be turned on and
off easily), which means they can meet the changing demands of a nation
 Fossil fuels are relatively safe to store and use

Disadvantages of fossil fuels

 It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form

o This is why they are considered to be a non-renewable energy resource
o The increasing demand for a decreasing supply causes prices to
increase
o Fossil fuels are predicted to completely run out within the next 200
years
 Burning fossil fuels pollutes the atmosphere with harmful gases such as:
o Carbon dioxide which contributes to the greenhouse effect
o Sulphur dioxide which produces acid rain
o Both carbon and sulphur can be captured upon burning, preventing it from
being released into the atmosphere but this is expensive to do
  Extraction of fossil fuels causes damage to the environment
 Fossil fuel power stations are expensive to build and decommission (close
down)
 The price of fossil fuels is volatile, which means the price of the electricity
produced can fluctuate based on global factors of supply and demand

Uses of fossil fuels

 Fossil fuels are used for:

o Transport
o Generating electricity
o Heating

Transport

 The majority of vehicles in the world are powered by petroleum products such
as petrol, diesel and kerosene
o These resources all originate from crude oil, which is a fossil fuel

 A growing number of vehicles are now being powered by electricity

o The advantage of this is that while the vehicle is being driven, it
produces zero carbon emissions
o The disadvantage is that when the vehicle is being charged, it is
connected to the National Grid, which currently uses a combination of
renewable and non-renewable energy sources

Electricity generation

 Fossil fuels, such as gas and coal, are used to produce energy on-
demand when energy is needed
o The fossil fuel is burned (combusted) and used to heat water to
produce steam
o The steam turns a turbine
o The turbine turns a generator, which generates electricity
o The current produced is transmitted via the National Grid
o The steam is condensed into water to be used again

Electricity generation in a coal-fired power station

Fossil fuels are burned to heat water to produce steam. The steam turns the
turbine, which turns the generator, which produces electricity.
 Electricity plays a bigger role in people's lives than ever before
o With almost 8 billion people in the world, this means the demand for
electricity is extremely high
o To keep up with this demand, a combination of all the energy resources
available is needed

Global energy consumption

 Currently, more than three quarters of the global electricity production uses
fossil fuels; this is increasing the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which
leads to global warming
Heating

 The majority of heating systems run on fossil fuels

o Gas central heating systems are the most common, with a gas boiler that
heats water through a system of pipes and radiators throughout the
building
o Boilers can also be powered by oil or biofuels
o Open fireplaces burn wood or coal
 Electric heaters run on electricity
 Bottled gas can also be used in portable heaters
o Bottled gas is either propane or butane which are also produced from
fossil fuels

Bio fuels
 Biofuels are made from plant matter
o Energy from sunlight is transferred to the chemical store of plants
 Ethanol or methane can be produced and used in place of fossil fuels
o However, they have only half the energy density of fossil fuels

Advantages of biofuel

 Biofuel is a renewable resource

 Some vehicles can be powered by biofuel rather than using fossil fuels
 Biofuel is considered to be carbon neutral
 No sulphur dioxide is produced
 Biofuel is added to petrol and diesel products in many country to reduce the
volume of pollutants released in combustion

Disadvantages of biofuel

 Crops of biofuel producing plants must be grown, which takes time

o Growing the crops takes a lot of land, and takes resources needed for
food production
 Burning biofuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
o Biofuels are considered carbon neutral because plants take in carbon
dioxide when they photosynthesise, however, this view is controversial
o If the land had been used to grow crops for food, the same amount of
carbon would have been taken out of the atmosphere, and much less
carbon would have been returned
 Biofuels have only half the energy density of fossil fuels, which means twice as
much fuel needs to be used to release the same amount of energy
 Not many vehicles can run on biofuel alone
 Cycle of biofuel production and use

Plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, but carbon dioxide is

released back into the atmosphere when biofuels are burned

Nuclear fuel
 Energy stored in the nucleus of atoms can be released when the nucleus is
broken in two
o This is known as nuclear fission

Nuclear fission
Nuclear Fission: when a large nucleus is broken into two smaller nuclei, energy
is released

 Nuclear power stations use fission reactions to heat water to produce steam, to
turn turbines that turn generators which generate electricity

Advantages of nuclear power

 No pollution released into atmosphere

 Nuclear power stations are extremely reliable and well established in some
countries
 Nuclear power stations are responsive as the output is easily controlled
 Nuclear power stations produce massive amounts of power
o Twice the power output of a fossil fuel power station
 Nuclear fuel has a high energy density
o A small amount of fuel releases massive amounts of energy

Disadvantages of nuclear power

 Nuclear power is a non-renewable resource

o Uranium ore mined from rocks so there is a finite supply
 Nuclear fuels produce radioactive waste
o Radioactive waste is packaged and buried underground to be stored
for thousands of years
o Burial sites must remain undisturbed and uninhabited
  Nuclear power stations are extremely expensive to build and to decommission
(close down)
 Nuclear power stations are expensive to run and maintain because rigorous
safety protocols must be in place
 Nuclear power stations are potentially dangerous in the event of an accident

Exam Tip

In your IGCSE exam, you may be required to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of various energy resources. You may also need to apply your
understanding of energy resources to unfamiliar scenarios, for example, by suggesting
which type of energy resource would be best for a particular community. Make sure you
can justify your choices.

You've read 5 of your 10 free revision notes

Get unlimited access
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 Topic Questions
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the (exam) results speak for themselves:
 I would just like to say a massive thank you for putting together such a brilliant,
easy to use website.I really think using this site helped me secure my top
gradesin science and maths. You really did save my exams! Thank you.

Beth
IGSCE Student

 This website is soooo useful and I can’t ever thank you enough for organising
questions by topic like this. Furthermore, the name of the website could not have
been more appropriate as it literally did SAVE MY EXAMS!

Fathima
A Level Student

 Incredible! SO worth my money, the revision notes have everything I need to

know and are so easy to understand. I actually enjoy revising! It makes me feel
a lot more confident for my GCSEs in a few months.
 Kate
GCSE Student

 Absolutely brilliant, both my girls used it for A levels and GCSE. It's saves on
paper copies, also beneficial topic questions ranked from easy to hard. It's
removed a lot of stress from the exams.

Sameera
Parent

 Just to say that your resources are the best I have seen and I have been
teaching chemistry at different levels for about 40 years

Mark
Chemistry Teacher

 Excellent

Read more reviews

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Test yourselfFlashcardsNext topic
Author
Leander
Expertise
Physics
Did this video help you?
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Wave & tide power
 Energy can be obtained from the kinetic store of the waves and tides
 The motion of the water is used to turn a turbine, which turns a generator, which
generates electricity

Wave power

 Wave power uses underwater turbines

 The waves move the water which causes the turbines to turn

Turbines using wave power

 Underwater turbines generate electricity

Tidal power

 Tidal power uses tidal barrages to store water at a height as the tide comes in
and goes out
 When the barrage is opened, water flows through a channel over a turbine

Tidal barrage
 A tidal barrage stores water at a height and then opens a gate allowing water to
flow over a turbine

Advantages of wave and tidal power

 Wave and tide power produce no pollution or greenhouse gases as no fuel is

needed
 No fuel costs
 Tides are regular, so tide power is reliable and predictable
 Large amounts of electricity can be produced at regular intervals
 Wave and tidal power stations are responsive; they can be turned off and on
quickly to meet demand
 Wave and tidal power are renewable energy resources
 Smaller power stations are are useful for small islands
 Wave and tidal power stations are inexpensive to build and cheap to run
  Wave and tidal power stations are very efficient (around 80%)

Disadvantages of wave and tidal power

 Tidal barrages are built in estuaries so there are not many suitable locations
 The underwater turbines and tidal barrages can interfere with shipping routes
and cause damage to habitats
 The technology for wave and tidal power is not currently advanced enough for
large-scale electricity generation
 Wave and tidal power stations have a long construction time compared to
some other power station types
 Waves power is unreliable as the waves are not always large enough to turn
the turbines

Hydroelectric dams
 When water is stored above ground level, it has energy in its gravitational
potential store
 This energy can be transferred to kinetic energy if the water is allowed to flow
down the slope
 Flowing water turns the turbine to generate electricity

A hydroelectric dam
 A hydroelectric dam transfers energy mechanically from the gravitational
potential energy store of the water to its kinetic energy store. The moving water
turns the turbine

Advantages of hydroelectric power

 Hydroelectric dams are reliable and well established in most countries

 Hydroelectric power stations are responsive because they can be turned on and
off easily to meet changing demand
 Hydroelectric power stations are cheap to run
 Hydroelectric power stations can produce large amounts of electricity
 Water is a renewable energy resource

Disadvantages of hydroelectric power

 Valleys are flooded to create the reservoir used to store the water,
which destroys habitats, towns and villages
 Pumping systems are sometimes used to return the water to the reservoir
o Pumping systems use fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases and
pollution into the atmosphere
 Hydroelectric power stations are expensive to build because the land and
properties need to be acquired in order to build the reservoir
 High-voltage power lines are required to transmit electricity to the National Grid
 Drought can affect the supply of water

Exam Tip

In your IGCSE exam, you may be required to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of various energy resources. You may also need to apply your
understanding of energy resources to unfamiliar scenarios, for example, by suggesting
which type of energy resource would be best for a particular community. Make sure you
can justify your choices.

You've read 5 of your 10 free revision notes

Get unlimited access
to absolutely everything:

 Downloadable PDFs
 Unlimited Revision Notes
 Topic Questions
 Past Papers
 Model Answers
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 Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
 I would just like to say a massive thank you for putting together such a brilliant,
easy to use website.I really think using this site helped me secure my top
gradesin science and maths. You really did save my exams! Thank you.

Beth
IGSCE Student

 This website is soooo useful and I can’t ever thank you enough for organising
questions by topic like this. Furthermore, the name of the website could not have
been more appropriate as it literally did SAVE MY EXAMS!

Fathima
A Level Student

 Incredible! SO worth my money, the revision notes have everything I need to

know and are so easy to understand. I actually enjoy revising! It makes me feel
a lot more confident for my GCSEs in a few months.

Kate
GCSE Student

 Absolutely brilliant, both my girls used it for A levels and GCSE. It's saves on
paper copies, also beneficial topic questions ranked from easy to hard. It's
removed a lot of stress from the exams.

Sameera
Parent

 Just to say that your resources are the best I have seen and I have been
teaching chemistry at different levels for about 40 years

Mark
Chemistry Teacher

 Excellent

Read more reviews

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Test yourselfFlashcardsNext topic
Author
Leander
Expertise
Physics
Geothermal energy
 Tectonic activity causes areas where the rocks below ground become heated
 Energy in the thermal store of the rocks can be obtained by:
o Drilling shafts into the Earth's surface to expose the heated rocks
o Injecting water into the shaft which is heated by the rocks
o The water is returned via another shaft as steam or hot water
o The steam can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity
o The hot water can be used to heat homes and provide a hot water supply
to households

Geothermal power station

Cold water is heated by the rocks and returned as hot water or steam, which can
be used to generate electricity

Advantages of geothermal energy

 Geothermal energy is renewable

 Geothermal power stations are reliable because the rocks remain hot for
thousands of years so they can consistently produce electricity

Disadvantages of geothermal energy

 Geothermal energy depends on tectonic activity, so there are few suitable

locations on Earth
 Methane (natural gas) is found in spaces between rocks and can be forced out
when water is injected into the rocks (fracking)
o Methane is a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming (even
without combustion)
 Geothermal power stations are expensive to build
 Geothermal power stations are small so they are not suitable for large-scale
electricity production
 Geothermal power stations are not very efficient (around 12%)
Exam Tip

In your IGCSE exam, you may be required to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of various energy resources. You may also need to apply your
understanding of energy resources to unfamiliar scenarios, for example, by suggesting
which type of energy resource would be best for a particular community. Make sure you
can justify your choices.

You've read 5 of your 10 free revision notes

Get unlimited access
to absolutely everything:

 Downloadable PDFs
 Unlimited Revision Notes
 Topic Questions
 Past Papers
 Model Answers
 Videos (Maths and Science)

Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:
 I would just like to say a massive thank you for putting together such a brilliant,
easy to use website.I really think using this site helped me secure my top
gradesin science and maths. You really did save my exams! Thank you.

Beth
IGSCE Student

 This website is soooo useful and I can’t ever thank you enough for organising
questions by topic like this. Furthermore, the name of the website could not have
been more appropriate as it literally did SAVE MY EXAMS!

Fathima
A Level Student

 Incredible! SO worth my money, the revision notes have everything I need to

know and are so easy to understand. I actually enjoy revising! It makes me feel
a lot more confident for my GCSEs in a few months.

Kate
GCSE Student
  Absolutely brilliant, both my girls used it for A levels and GCSE. It's saves on
paper copies, also beneficial topic questions ranked from easy to hard. It's
removed a lot of stress from the exams.

Sameera
Parent

 Just to say that your resources are the best I have seen and I have been
teaching chemistry at different levels for about 40 years

Mark
Chemistry Teacher

 Excellent

Read more reviews

Join now for free

Test yourselfFlashcardsNext topic
Nuclear fusion
Extended tier only

 The Sun releases energy by the process of nuclear fusion in its core
o Nuclear fusion involves the fusing of hydrogen nuclei to form helium
nuclei, releasing massive amounts energy in the process

Nuclear fusion
 Fusion is the process in which small nuclei, such as hydrogen, are fused
together to form larger nuclei, releasing energy in the process

 It is theoretically possible to produce a fusion reactor that could be used

to generate electricity

o This technology could potentially solve the world's energy crisis

 Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and high pressures, like in the
centre of a star
 Scientists are currently researching how to sustain a fusion reaction at lower
temperatures
o International research projects funded by some of the world's largest
businesses are making progress with some promising results
 Currently, the fusion reactions require nearly as much energy as they release,
but progress is being made toward net energy production
o If they succeed, virtually limitless amounts of energy could be produced,
with large-scale, carbon-free electricity generation
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