57034 – Engineering Science (Thermodynamics)

Assignment 1

Thermodynamics includes three assessed assignments, together representing 20% of the marks for
this 10 credit component of the overall module.

The questions are mostly numerical, based upon the material presented during Chapter 1, Chapter 2
and Chapter 3. These are not multiple choice guesses ! You will need to sit down and work through
the questions with a calculator to hand. I would even suggest that you make use of your Mathcad
skills to check your answers.

This copy of the assignment is for reference only, where you see {?}, a single numerical value is
required. Final submission MUST be through the Questionnaire Tab for module 57034 in eBridge

Remember to check the units required in the answer, your answer will be incorrect if not
presented in the required units. Some flexibility is allowed in terms of the number of
significant figures provided in your answer.

Deadline for submissions is 4pm, 8 March

Late submissions will be accepted until 4pm, 15 March

Assignments handed in late will be marked according to Faculty regulations, until the assignment is
reviewed in class, after this time late submissions will receive a mark of Zero. So plan to submit
early!
Assume the standard acceleration due to gravity is 9.807 m/s2.
Atmospheric pressure at sea level is 101325 Pa.

1) The (vertical) force needed to support a mass of 2.5kg at rest is {?} Newtons

2) A vertical force of 3N can support a mass of {?} kg

3) A car with a mass of 1200kg travels with a velocity 80 km/hr.

i) The moving car has a kinetic energy of {?} Joules

ii) When stationary, the car could be raised to a height of {?} metres such that it would have an
equivalent potential energy to the car when in motion.

4) A tank containing air has two compartments separated by a membrane.

Compartment A has a volume of 600 litres, and contains a mass of 1200g, at a pressure, PA.

Compartment B has a volume of 800 litres, with air of density 0.75 kg/m3, at a pressure, PB.

i) The mass of air in compartment B is {?} kg.

ii) The total mass of air in the tank is {?} kg.

iii) The total volume of the tank is {?} m3.

iv) When the membrane is burst the air in the two compartments mixes. When the system has
reached equilibrium the density of the air will be {?} kg/m3.

5) Which of the following expressions is correct ?

a) Pressure = Force x Area

b) Pressure = Force / Area
c) Pressure = Force2 / Area
d) Pressure = Force / Area2

6) A hydraulic lift has a maximum working fluid pressure of 600kPa.

i) A car of mass 900kg would exert a force of {?} kN on the lift ?

ii) Assuming a single cylinder, the hydraulic piston-cylinder would need to have a diameter of
{?} cm to be able to exert such a force at the fluid working pressure.
7) The absolute pressure in a tank of Nitrogen is 75 kPa. The ambient absolute pressure is 97 kPa.

One arm of a U-tube containing mercury, of density 13550 kg/m3, is attached to the tank to
measure the vacuum.

i) The difference in pressure between tank and atmosphere is {?} kPa.

ii) 1 kPa is identical to {?} Pa.

iii) The difference in height of the mercury between the two arms will be {?} cm.

8) A mercury barometer measures pressure, which is expressed as height of a mercury column.

At ground level the barometer reads, 760mm, and on top of a building the reading is 730mm.

Assume air density, 1.15 kg/m3, density of mercury, 13550 kg/m3.

i) The air pressure at ground level is {?} kPa

ii) The air pressure on top of the building is {?} kPa

iii) The difference in pressure, expressed in Pascals, between ground level and the top of the
building is {?} Pa.

iv) By determining the equivalent height of a column of air, the height of the building is {?} m.

Assume the standard acceleration due to gravity is 9.807 m/s2.

9) A hydraulic cylinder has a piston of cross sectional area 30cm2 and a working fluid pressure of
2.3MPa.

i) From the definition of pressure, the resultant force on the piston is {?} kN

ii) The piston is displaced by a distance of 40cm which results in {?} kJ of work being done.

10) Match the following definitions for a process:

(isochoric , isobaric , adiabatic , isotropic , isothermal)
A constant pressure process is an ____ process
A constant volume process is an ____ process
A constant temperature process is an ____ process
A process in which zero heat transfer occurs is an ____ process
11) A piston cylinder, with a diameter of 25cm and an initial volume, V1, of 10 litres, contains air
at a pressure, P1, of 650kPa and a temperature, T1, of 300K. An isobaric process occurs and the
piston delivers 10kJ of work.

i) The final volume, V2, of the piston/cylinder is {?} litres.

ii) The final temperature, T2, of the air is {?} K.

iii) The piston will travel (the displacement)a distance of {?} cm during the process.

12) An escalator at full capacity can carry a load of, 500kg. The escalator rises a height of 90m, in a
time of 3 minutes.

i) The total amount of work done during this process is {?} kJ

ii) The total power required to raise the elevator is {?} kW

Assume the standard acceleration due to gravity is 9.807 m/s2.