EGEE 101H, Homework #1 Unit Conversions

Each question is worth 12.5 pts.

1. Calculate the work done (in Joules) by a 75-kilogram woman to climb to the top of
Mount Everest (29,028 feet)? (Conversion factors you need to solve this problem: 1 meter=
3.28 feet, Gravitational Acceleration =9.8 m/sec/sec. Note that work = force x distance, and
force = mass x gravitational acceleration)

work = (mass x gravitation acceleration) x distance

= 735 x 8850 = 6,504,750 joules

2. What is the energy equivalent of the work done in Question 1 in slices of pizza?
(Conversion factors you need to solve this problem: Energy content of one slice of pizza =
290 Calories and 1 Calorie = 4,184 Joules) Comment briefly on why your answer (which is
thermodynamically correct) is not really the right answer.

6504750 x (1/4184)(1/290) = 5.36 slices

5.36(290)= 1554.4
The energy equivalent of the work done in Question 1 is 5.36 slices of pizza. Although the
answer is thermodynamically correct, it is not really the right answer because the amount of
energy received from intaking 5.36 isnt enough to provide a 75 kilogram woman engaging in
physical activity. A woman may require more than 1,554.4 calories per day especially when shes
engaged in climbing the Everest which takes weeks to accomplish. On top of that, the weather
condition especially the oxygen level might decrease the level of energy converted from the
pizza. Therefore, the answer is not realistically correct.

3. Annual per capita energy consumption in the U.S. is approximately 350 million Btu.
Calculate how many pounds of coal would have the equivalent amount of energy (The
value of a typical coal is 13,000 Btu/lb).

(1/13000)(3500000000) = 26923.077 pounds of coal

4. The wattage of a typical color TV is 300 (i.e., it uses 300 watts of electric power). If one
kilowatt-hour of electricity costs 6 cents, how much does it cost to watch TV for 3 hours? (1
kilowatt = 1000 watts).

(((300)(3))(1/1000))(6/1) = 5.4 cents

5. The speed of light is approximately 300,000 kilometers/second, and the distance from the
sun to the earth is approximately 150,000,000 kilometers. How long (in minutes) does the
solar radiation take to reach the earth?

(150000000)(1/300000)(1/60) = 8.33 minutes

6. An elevator needs a power of 10 kW to run smoothly. Calculate its power in units of
horsepower.

10(1000)(1/746) = 13.405 units of horsepower

7. A typical adult in U.S. converts 2000 Calories of food energy per day. Calculate the
average metabolic power of an adult in watts, assuming that the energy is converted evenly
throughout the day (24 hours). (You know that this assumption is not true. One converts,
for example, much less energy by sleeping than by walking or running).

(2000)(4184) = 8368000 joules

(24)(60)(60) = 86400 sec/day
8368000/86400 = 96.85 watts

8. Calculate how many kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) are produced
when one kilogram of natural gas (i.e., methane, CH4) is burnt completely to carbon
dioxide and water. Atomic weight of C is 12, O is 16, and H is 1. Calculate molecular
weights of CO2 and CH4, and remember the combustion equation:
CH4 + 2O2 ! CO2 + 2H2O

44.01/16.04 = 2.744 kg