Unit: Electricity Name:_________________

Lesson 3: Power, Energy and Efficiency Date:____________________

Power, Energy and Efficiency
As electrical charges flow through a device or resistor (lightbulb, radio and etc…) in a circuit they lose energy
to that device. They lose energy due to the collisions with the atoms in the wire. That energy can be transferred
into heat, light, sound and etc…

Higher Some energy Lower

Voltage. transformed to heat, Voltage.
Ex: 3 V light, sound, and etc… Ex: 2 V
This resistor used 1 V
Energy:

Example:

Power:

Where

P= P=
V= E=
I= t=

Example #1
Using our knowledge of Ohm’s law (V = IR), find two more relationships with Power.

Example #2

Find the current in your house wires if you plug in a 1400 W hairdryer into a 120 V outlet.
Unit: Electricity Name:_________________
Lesson 3: Power, Energy and Efficiency Date:____________________
Example #3
A video game has a power rating of 175W & is used for 3600 seconds. How much energy is used?

Example #4
A circuit has a resistance of 5Ω. If the battery powering the circuit has a voltage of 10V find:
a. How much power is used to run this circuit?
b. How many amps are running through the circuit?
c. How much energy is required for the circuit to run for 60 minutes?

Efficiency –

Efficiency can be done using Power or Energy.

BC Hydro, and all electrical companies, charge you/ your family for using energy in your house. However,
they do not charge you per Joule of energy you use, but rather a kWh.
Note that E = P t, if Power is measured in a kW and time is measured in hours, Energy would have a unit of
kWh.

Thus, a kW is just Power, and a kWhr is Energy that the utilities company uses to charge you for using
electricity.
Unit: Electricity Name:_________________
Lesson 3: Power, Energy and Efficiency Date:____________________
Example #5

A 60 W lightbulb is connected to 120 Volts. It produces 58 J of heat and light every second. It is left on for 8
hours. Electricity cost 10.0 cents per Kwh. Find:
a. Current through the bulb d. Energy used
b. Resistance of bulb e. Cost of energy used
c. Efficiency of the bulb

Food for Thought

Computer = 800 W Light Bulb = 60 W Hot Water Tank = 3200 W Microwave = 1200 W
Dryer = 4800 W Kitchen Fan = 150 W Clock = .1 W
Unit: Electricity Name:_________________
Lesson 3: Power, Energy and Efficiency Date:____________________

Energy, Power and Efficiency Worksheet

Power

1. A radio plays for 2 hours & 30 min (9000 seconds) & consumes 1, 800, 000 J of energy. What is the amount of
wattage used? (200 W)
2. A current of 5.0 A flows through a flashlight bulb when it is connected to 6.0 V. What is the power of this bulb? (30
W)
3. A 600 W electric heater is connected to a 120 V source. What current flows through the heater? (5.0 A)
4. A 2.5 A current flows through a 100 W lamp. What is the voltage across the lamp? (40 V)
5. What is the current through a 6.0 W light bulb when it is connected to a 1.5 V battery? (4.0 A)
6. An electrical appliance has a requires 600. W of power & a current intensity of 4.00 amps. What is the voltage
required for this appliance? (150. V)

Energy
7. Explain the difference between a kW and a kWh.
8. How many Joules do you have in 1 kWh? (3.6x106 J)
9. A stereo has a power rating of 500W & is used for 3,600 seconds. How much energy in Joules and kWh was
consumed? (1.8 x 107 J; .5 kWh)
10. How much energy, in joules and in kW•h, is consumed by a 120 W light bulb if it is left on for 15 min? (1.08x105 J;
0.03 kW•h)
11. How much energy, in joules and kW•h, is consumed by a 200 W stereo if it is left on for 4.0 h? (2.9x106 J; 0.8 kW•h)
12. You accidentally leave your bedroom lights on & go off to school. You know the lights use 120 volts & have a current
intensity of 5.5 amps. You are gone for 5 hours. How much energy – in Joules and kWh - did the lights use? (198,000
J, 3.3 kWh)
13. A meter reader determines that a business has used 3550 kW•h of energy in two months. If electricity costs 10¢ per
kW•h, calculate the bill. $355.00
14. A hair dryer that has a power rating of 1200 W uses 2.50 kW•h in one week. For how many hours (or minutes) is the
hair dryer used daily on average? 2.08h
15. Assume that the electric utility company charges $0.09 for every kW•h of energy. How much does it cost to:
a. operate a dryer that uses 25 A of current at 240 V for 1.75 hours? ($0.94)
b. operate twelve 100 W light bulbs for an average of 5 hours per day? ($0.54)
c. operate a refrigerator for a week if it draws 2.5 A of current from a 110 V source that turns on for 15 minutes
every hour? ($1.04)

Combination
16. During a lab experiment, you build an electrical circuit. It has a power rating of 0.125 kW & and potential difference
of 25 volts. What is the resistance and the current intensity? (5 Ω, 5 A)
17. A 120 V source is connected to a 300. W resistor. Find:
a. The current (2.5A)
b. The resistance (48 Ω)
c. The heat (energy) it produced in 20 minutes in both Joules and kWh. (3.6x105 J; .10 kWh)
18. A 120 V source is connected to a 1500 W Kettle. Find:
a. The current (12.5 A)
b. The Resistance (9.60 Ω)
c. The energy in kWhr (35.0 kWh)
d. If electricity costs 5.20 cents per kWh, how much would it cost to run the kettle for a day? ($1.87)
19. A 220. Watt computer is connected to 110. volts of alternating current and is left on all month. Find:
a. The resistance (55.0 Ω)
b. The Current (2.00 A)
c. Energy used in one 30 day month (158 kWhr)
d. Cost of electricity if you are charged 8.50 cents per kWh. ($13.50)
Efficiency
20. A 1500 W kettle produces 2000. J of heat energy in 30. Seconds. Find its efficiency. (4.4 %)
Unit: Electricity Name:_________________
Lesson 3: Power, Energy and Efficiency Date:____________________
21. A bulb is connected to a power supply which is turned on. The current through the bulb is measured to be .450 A and
the voltage is measured to be 4.40 volts. The bulb is found to produce 1.50 J/s of light and heat energy. Find the bulbs
efficiency. (75.8%)
a.