The Physics Question Bank

A system is the object, or group of objects, that we decide to focus on in a physics problem.

It is like drawing an invisible box around the thing we are studying. Anything inside the box is part of the system. Anything outside the box is the surroundings.

For AQA GCSE Physics, systems are usually used when talking about energy. Energy can be transferred into a system, out of a system, or between different energy stores within the system.

For example, if we are studying a kettle heating water, the system might be the kettle and the water. Energy is transferred electrically from the mains to the kettle, then to the thermal energy store of the water.

Another example is a ball falling towards the ground. The system might be the ball and the Earth. Energy is transferred from the gravitational potential energy store to the kinetic energy store as the ball speeds up.

A strong GCSE answer:

A system is an object or group of objects chosen for study. In energy questions, we look at how energy is transferred into, out of, or between energy stores in that system.