I never know where to start where I get a calculation question given many values, what should I do? (e.g: finding how much energy is needed for all the ice in a glass of water to melt after the ice is dropped into warm water)

Firstly, you should always list down the values that were given to you in the question so that you know exactly what you already know, and then by looking at this list, it makes it easier for you to remember what formula to apply. Then, if applicable, try to sketch a diagram of what is going on. For example, if the question was related to forces acting on an object, a force diagram with arrows would be useful; or in the example given above, drawing a temperature vs time/phase diagram would be useful to see when is the energy going into changing phase and when is it going into increasing the temperature. Then, with the list of values and a diagram, you can match the values that you have to the diagram, and thus see what you need to find in order to solve the question.

Answered by Simone L. Physics tutor

982 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I work out the efficiency of a process from a Sankey diagram?


A charged particle in a cyclotron moves in a circle with radius 5mm. If the field in the cyclotron is 0.06 T and the velocity of the particle is 2.4x10^7, what is the charge-mass ratio of the particle?


A boy kicks a ball and it is accelerated uniformly from rest so that after 10 seconds it has achieved a speed of 15m/s. Find the ball's acceleration.


What is radioactivity?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences