If a bulb has a current of 20mA and voltage of 5V, and the current cost of electricity is £3 for a kW/hour. How much money would you spend to power the bulb for 8 hours? Are these good estimates for the current, voltage and cost of electricity?

Well we know that the power of the bulb is given by P = IV. Therefore the power = (20 x 10-3 Coulomb per second) * (5 Joules per Coulomb) = 100 x 10-3 Joules per second = 0.1 W.

So the bulb uses 0.1 Joules of energy per second or 0.1 Watts. 

To power the bulb for one hour you need 0.1 W  = 0.0001kW

Therefore 0.0001 * 300 pence = 0.03 pence per hour. 

So for 8 hours it would cost 0.24 pence. 

AV
Answered by Anuradha V. Physics tutor

2214 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Explain how resonance occurs for a driven oscillating system and describe the effect of damping on the resonant frequency.


Use band theory to explain the changes in the resistance of an intrinsic semiconductor as temper changes.


How can I find out the Young's modulus of a material?


What is EMF? How do we test for it?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning