During a safety check in a care home, a technician finds that an electric blanket and the tightly coiled extension lead supplying it both become warm.
The technician concludes that the blanket should be removed because any heating in this circuit means that electrical energy is being wasted.
Evaluate the technician's conclusion. In your answer, account for the temperature rise in the conductors and distinguish between the effects in the blanket and in the extension lead.
105 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 10.3 Electrical energy and power, covering 10.3.1 The heating effect of an electric current, 10.3.2 Reducing energy transfer in wires, 10.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of the heating effect, 10.3.4 Energy transferred by an electrical circuit, 10.3.5 Electrical power, and 10.3.6 Energy transfers in domestic devices. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.