An engineer investigated the heating of a lithium-ion battery cell during a rapid-charge cycle using two experimental cooling plates, Plate X and Plate Y.
The mass of the battery cell was 0.85 kg0.85\text{ kg}0.85 kg. The specific heat capacity of the battery cell material is 920 J/kg ∘C920\text{ J/kg }^\circ\text{C}920 J/kg ∘C.
The table below shows the temperature of the battery cell at regular intervals during the 15-minute test:
| Time (minutes) | Temperature with Plate X (∘C^\circ\text{C}∘C) | Temperature with Plate Y (∘C^\circ\text{C}∘C) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 21.5 | 21.5 |
| 3 | 29.0 | 33.5 |
| 6 | 35.0 | 43.0 |
| 9 | 39.5 | 50.5 |
| 12 | 43.0 | 56.5 |
| 15 | 45.5 | 61.5 |
Determine the total change in thermal energy of the battery cell over the 15-minute period when Plate Y was used. Use the equation:
change in thermal energy=mass×specific heat capacity×temperature change \text{change in thermal energy} = \text{mass} \times \text{specific heat capacity} \times \text{temperature change} change in thermal energy=mass×specific heat capacity×temperature change37 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Physics 3.2 Internal energy and energy transfers, covering 3.2.1 Internal energy, 3.2.2 Temperature changes in a system and specific heat capacity, and 3.2.3 Changes of state and specific latent heat. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.