MYP · Sciences MYP Year 2
Energy Forms and Transfer
18 min readStandardCentral strand of MYP Sciences Year 2 — recurs across Criterion A (Knowing & Understanding) and Criterion C (Processing & Evaluating) tasks; almost every unit test includes at least one conservation-of-energy 'state' question and one efficiency or transformation calculation.
Every question in this unit — bouncing balls, swinging pendulums, lamps, power stations — is really asking the same thing: where did the energy go, and how much of it stayed useful? Get comfortable with 'transformed, not destroyed' as your default explanation, and the rest of this topic falls into place fast.
Overview: How This Topic Fits Together
Energy shows up in this course in nine recognisable forms, moves between objects by transfer, and changes identity by transformation — but the one rule that never breaks is that the total amount stays fixed. Almost every exam question here is really testing whether you can track energy through a process and name exactly where it ended up, rather than saying it 'disappeared'.
- Conservation of energy is the law underneath everything else in this unit — it's why 'lost' energy is banned vocabulary in your answers.
- Heat moves by conduction, convection, or radiation depending entirely on what medium is available.
- Resources (renewable vs non-renewable) are classified purely by how fast nature replaces them, not by how clean they are.
- Efficiency measures how much of the energy you put into a device comes out in the form you actually wanted.
The shape of the chapter
Command terms this topic actually uses
| Command term | What it demands | AO | Mark-earning move |
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Give a precise, recallable statement — a law or definition — with no explanation or working required. | AO1 | 1 mark is for the exact correct structure of the law (energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed/transferred); a vague paraphrase like 'energy stays the same' often loses the mark. |
| Identify | Name or select a specific quantity, variable, or position from given data or a diagram. | AO1 | 1 mark for the single correct answer — no justification needed, but the wrong item scores zero even with good reasoning attached. |
| Explain | State what happens AND give the reason or mechanism linking cause to effect. | AO2 | Marks split as observation + causal reasoning; answers that only describe (no 'because'/mechanism) usually cap at half marks. |
| Compare | Make an explicit statement of similarity and/or difference — both things being compared must appear in the answer. | AO2 | Full marks need both sides referenced in the same sentence; describing only one side scores half marks at most. |
| Calculate | Use a formula, show substitution/working, and give a final numerical answer with the correct unit. | AO1/AO2 | Method marks are awarded even if the final number is wrong (error carried forward); no working shown means no method mark, even with a correct final answer. |
Key point
Energy is never created, destroyed, or 'used up' — it only moves between objects (transfer) or changes form (transformation). Whatever the scenario, total energy before = total energy after; only the split between useful and wasted forms changes.
Overview