i1 • Energy in food • Units

kaj@eucsyd.dk

Name:Palak
Date:29.09.22
Time spent on preparing this report, including the duration of the lesson:1 hour,10mins

1. Learn about energy in food

a. Units of energy and their origin

Name Symbol Origin or definition

Unit 1 joule J Basic energy unit, but not

a basic SI unit.

Unit 2 Calorie cal Historically the calorie

was defined in terms of
the heating of water.

Unit 3 Electron volt eV Traditional unit of energy

Note: Use https://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/energy/units.cfm,

https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Electricity_and_Magnetism/
Electricity_and_Magnetism_(Tatum)/02%3A_Electrostatic_Potential/2.03%3A_Electron-volts to
find out about the units; Example on filling in the table is given in the first row; You are expected to
know only the three units included in the table

b. Conversions between units of energy

Conversion

Unit J cal eV

J 1 0,23923445 6,24150907x1018

cal 4.18 1 2.6114474x1019

eV 1.6022 10-19 3.82929406x 10-20 1

Note: Example on filling in the table is given in the first column; Each column gives you the
conversion factors between units of energy; The first column tells you that: (i) there is no
conversion factor between J, i.e 1 J=1 J; (ii) The conversion factor between cal and J is 4.18, i.e. 1
cal = 4.18 J; (iii) The conversion factor between eV and J is 1.6022 10-19 , i.e. 1 eV = 1.6022 10-19 J

c. Check how much energy you receive per day

Meal Products Energy Energy Total energy per meal
(kJ) (kcal) (kJ) (kcal)

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 i1 • Energy in food • Units
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Breakfast Cornflakes 335 0.150 335 0.150

Lunch Potatoes(4) 2808 0.264 3693 0.514

Pasta 885 0.250

Afternoon Cake 2117 0.535 2117 0.535

snack

Dinner Pizza 706 0.168 1266 0.302

Chicken 560 0.134

Total energy per day

(kJ) (kcal)
7411 1501

Note: Fill in the table with the products you eat for the indicated meals; You can add more meals to
the list, i.e. personalise your list; Through an internet search, find the energy content in the different
products in kJ and kcal; Calculate the total energy intake per meal in both energy units; Calculate
the total energy intake per day in both energy units; Remember k=1000

d. Compare your daily intake of energy with daily energy requirements

Activity Energy requirements Your comments

(kJ) (kcal)

Received per day 7411 1.501

Required per day 8700 2(Women)

Required per walk 7.37 0.3

(1h)
Required per sleep 200 0.05
(1h)

Note: Through an internet search, find how much energy is required per person per day; Check
much energy is required for the indicated activities; You can add information about activities
that interest you, i.e. personalise your list

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 i1 • Energy in food • Units
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2. Learn about basic (fundamental) units

a. Watch the videos explaining the historical development of unit systems and the SI units
Note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUVjJWA6Vw, https://www.nist.gov/si-redefinition

b. Create a table containing all 7 basic units

Basic physical Basic physical Basic physical Basic physical Basic physical
quantity quantity quantity unit quantity unit quantity unit

Name Symbol Name Symbol Definition

mass m Kilogram Kg Mass is quantity

of matter

length l metre m Measurement of

something

time t seconds s The measurable

period during
which an action
takes place

electric current I ampere A A movement of

positive or
negative electric
particles

temperature T Kelvin K Hotness or

coldness

amount of n mole mol A measure of the

substance number of
elementary
entities

luminous Iv candela cd A measure of the

intensity wavelength
power emitted
by a light source

Note: Fill in the table according to the example given in the last row; You can give definitions of
the basic units if you like.

3. Learn about derived units

a. Get acquainted with the file SI basic and derived units.pdf
Explain shortly what the difference between derived units and basic units is.

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b. Give 3 examples of derived units and how they are expressed by basic units

Exampl Derived Derived Expressed by basic units

e unit unit
Symbol Name
1 J Joule J =N x m

2 C Coulomb C =A x s

3 V Volt V= W/A

4 W (watt) Watt m
kg ∙ 2
∙m
J N ∙m s
W= = =
s s s

Note: Example is given in the last raw.

c. State explicitly how the unit of energy (joule) is expressed by SI basic units.

Derived Derived Expressed by basic units

unit unit
Name Symbol

joule J
Kg x m2 x s−2

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