Q. My MacBook Air is less than a year old, but I notice the battery doesn’t seem to last nearly as long as advertised and the laptop seems to really be working at something. How can I tell what it’s doing?

A. Apple builds battery-usage tools into its Mac laptops to help you monitor your portable power source, including the Battery Status menu. To see the Battery Status menu, click the small battery icon on the upper-right side of the Mac’s menu bar.

Image Click the battery icon in the Mac's menu bar to quickly see information about the MacBook's power status and which apps are using the most energy. Credit... The New York Times

If you do not see a battery icon up there, click the System Preferences icon in the desktop dock, click the Energy Saver icon and click the box next to “Show battery status in menu bar.” You can also open the System Preference box from the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of the screen.