10 GCSE Physics questions about the games console, from Foundation to Higher, each with a full worked answer. A modern console can draw around 200 W while you play – most of that energy ends up heating the processor, which is why it has a fan. Even when it looks switched off, an “instant-on” standby mode keeps drawing power, and the rumble in your controller comes from a tiny electric motor spinning an off-centre weight.
Course: Combined Science + Separate Physics | Tier: Foundation + Higher | Topics: Energy, Electricity, Magnetism and electromagnetism
📌 KEY DEFINITIONS – learn them word for word
Power: the rate at which energy is transferred or the rate at which work is done. An energy transfer of 1 joule per second is a power of 1 watt.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh): a unit of energy – the energy transferred by a 1 kW appliance in 1 hour. 1 kWh = 3 600 000 J.
Motor effect: when a conductor carrying a current is placed in a magnetic field, the magnet producing the field and the conductor exert a force on each other.
Equations you’ll use
E = P t | P = V I | cost = energy (kWh) × price per kWh | Q = I t | E = Q V | F = B I L (HT)
| Quantity | Symbol | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| energy transferred | E | joules (J) or kilowatt-hours (kWh) |
| power | P | watts (W) or kilowatts (kW) |
| time | t | seconds (s) or hours (h) |
| potential difference | V | volts (V) |
| current | I | amperes (A) |
| charge flow | Q | coulombs (C) |
| force | F | newtons (N) |
| magnetic flux density | B | tesla (T) |
| length of wire in the field | L | metres (m) |
Watch the units: W and s give J. kW and h give kWh.
Use FIFA for every answer
- F – Formula: write the equation as it appears on the sheet.
- I – Insert: put in the numbers (convert to standard units first).
- F – Fix: rearrange to make the unknown the subject.
- A – Answer: calculate and always give the unit.
Questions
Q1 (F) A games console has a power of 200 W while a game is being played. Calculate the energy it transfers in a 3-hour gaming session, in kWh.
Show solution
Convert first: 200 W = 0.2 kW
F: E = P t
I: E = 0.2 × 3
F: E is already the subject
A: 0.6 kWh
Q2 (F) Electricity costs 27p per kWh. Calculate the cost of the 0.6 kWh gaming session, to the nearest penny.
Show solution
F: cost = energy (kWh) × price per kWh
I: cost = 0.6 × 27
F: cost is already the subject
A: 16.2p = 16p
Q3 (F) Calculate the energy transferred by the 200 W console in 1 hour, in joules. Give your answer in kJ.
Show solution
Convert first: 1 hour = 3600 s
F: E = P t
I: E = 200 × 3600
F: E is already the subject
A: 720 000 J = 720 kJ
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Q4 (F) The console is plugged into the 230 V UK mains. Calculate the current when its power is 200 W, to 2 significant figures.
Show solution
F: P = V I
I: 200 = 230 × I
F: I = 200 ÷ 230 = 0.869… A
A: 0.87 A (2 s.f.)
Q5 (F/H) In “instant-on” standby mode the console uses 12 W. It is left in standby for 21 hours every day. Calculate the energy used in standby in one year (365 days) in kWh, and its cost at 27p per kWh.
Show solution
Convert first: 12 W = 0.012 kW; time = 21 × 365 = 7665 h
F: E = P t
I: E = 0.012 × 7665
F: E is already the subject
A: E = 91.98 kWh ≈ 92 kWh
Cost: 91.98 × 27 = 2483p = £24.83 (about £25 a year)
Q6 (F/H) On a full charge, a controller battery supplies a current of 0.26 A for 6.0 hours at a potential difference of 3.7 V. (a) Calculate the charge that flows, in coulombs, and the energy stored, in joules. (b) Calculate the controller’s average power.
Show solution
Convert first: 6.0 hours = 6.0 × 3600 = 21 600 s
(a) F: Q = I t
I: Q = 0.26 × 21 600
A: 5616 C
F: E = Q V
I: E = 5616 × 3.7
A: E = 20 779 J ≈ 21 000 J (21 kJ, 2 s.f.)
(b) F: E = P t
I: 20 779 = P × 21 600
F: P = 20 779 ÷ 21 600
A: 0.96 W (2 s.f.)
Q7 (F/H) Describe the energy transfers that take place while the console is being used to play a game. Explain why the console needs a fan. [4 marks]
Show answer
• Energy is transferred electrically from the mains supply to the console. (1)
• Most of it ends up in the thermal store of the processor and other parts, because the current heats the circuits. (1)
• Some is transferred to the kinetic store of the fan (and of a disc if one is spinning). (1)
• The fan moves air through the console so energy is transferred to the thermal store of the surroundings more quickly; without it the chips would overheat and could be damaged or slow down. (1)
Q8 (H · HT) In a controller’s vibration motor, the coil has a total length of 0.75 m of wire in a magnetic field of flux density 0.30 T, at right angles to the field. The current is 0.10 A. Calculate the force on the wire.
Show solution
F: F = B I L
I: F = 0.30 × 0.10 × 0.75
F: F is already the subject
A: 0.0225 N (0.023 N to 2 s.f.)
Q9 (H · HT) The vibration motor is a small d.c. electric motor with an off-centre weight fixed to its spindle. Explain how the motor makes the coil spin, and why the controller vibrates. [6 marks]
Show answer
Model answer – marking points:
• A current flows through the coil, which sits in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet.
• A current-carrying wire in a magnetic field experiences a force (the motor effect).
• The current flows in opposite directions on the two sides of the coil, so the forces on the two sides act in opposite directions (Fleming’s left-hand rule).
• This produces a turning effect, so the coil rotates.
• A split-ring commutator reverses the current every half turn, so the coil keeps turning in the same direction.
• The weight is off-centre, so as it spins it pulls the motor (and the controller) one way and then the other many times a second – this shaking is the vibration you feel.
Q10 (H) The console uses 91.98 kWh a year in standby (Q5). It uses 200 W while gaming. Calculate how many hours of gaming would use the same energy as one year of standby, to 2 significant figures.
Show solution
Convert first: 200 W = 0.2 kW
F: E = P t
I: 91.98 = 0.2 × t
F: t = 91.98 ÷ 0.2 = 459.9 h
A: 460 hours (2 s.f.) – that’s about 150 three-hour sessions, just from leaving it on standby.
⚠️ Where students lose marks
- Mixing units in E = P t: kW × h gives kWh, but W × s gives J. Writing W × h and calling it kWh gives an answer 1000 times too big.
- Thinking standby means “off” – a small power left on for many hours a day adds up to a large energy over a year.
- Leaving the time in hours in Q = I t – multiply the current in amps by the time in seconds (0.26 A × 21 600 s = 5616 C).
- In motor questions, forgetting to say the forces on each side of the coil are in opposite directions, or forgetting the role of the commutator.
More devices: all 40 everyday devices · Energy questions · Electricity questions
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