Keirstyn Marcucci

EGEE 101H, Homework #1 Unit Conversions

January 28, 2014
Due on Thursday, January 29 by electronic submission to the HW1 drop box, by 11:59 p.m.
Submit, MS Excel, MS Word, or pdf. Scanned copies of handwritten pages are not acceptable.
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= force x distance
Force= mass x gravitational acceleration
Force= 75 kg x 9.8 m/sec =735 kg/m/sec
Distance= 29,028 feet/3.28 feet = 8,850 meters
Work = 735 kg/m/sec/sec x 8,850m = 6,504,750 (kg x m )/ sec
Joules = kg x m /sec
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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.
1 cal = 4,184 Joules
Cal =6,504,750 Joules / 4,181 Joules = 1,555.79 Cal
1 pizza = 290 Cal
1,555.79 Cal / 290 Cal = 5.36 energy content in one slice of pizza.
Though the energy content of 5.36 slices of pizza is indeed equivalent to the potential energy gain to
raise 75 kg of mass to 8550 m, it should not be taken as the amount of energy this 75-kg woman needs to
convert in order to climb Mt. Everest. First, one must look of the time it takes a person to climb to the
top, which relates directly to the power. Also, not all energy taken in as food could be converted to work.
Only with these considerations and making the correct assumptions, one can reasonably calculate how
much energy would truly be needed to climb to the top of the mountain.
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).
350,000,000 Btu
Value of typical coal = 13,000 Btu/lb
350,000,000 Btu / 13,000/lb = 26,923.08 lb.

4. The wattage of a typical color TV is 300 (i.e., it uses 300 watts of electric power). If one kilowatthour of electricity costs 6 cents, how much does it cost to watch TV for 3 hours? (1 kilowatt = 1000
watts).
1 kilowatt = 1,000 watts
1 kilowatt/hr = 6 cents
1,000watts/hr = 6 cents
300 watts * 3 hours = 900 watts per 3 hrs.
6 cents / 1,000watts/hr = .006 cents/watts/hr
.006 * 900 watts per 3 hours = 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?
Speed of Light = 300,000 km/sec
Distance from sun to the earth = 150,000,000 km
150,000,000 / 300,000 km/sec = 500 sec
1 min = 60 sec
500 sec / 60 sec = 8.3 minutes
6. An elevator needs a power of 10 kW to run smoothly. Calculate its power in units of horsepower.
10 kW
1 kilowatt = 1.34 horsepower
10 kW x 1.34 = 13.4 horsepower
7. A typical adult in U.S. converts 2000 Calories of food energy per day. Calculate the average metabolic
power of an adult, 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).
2,000 Calories of food energy per day / 24 hours = 83.33 Calories of food per hour
8. Calculate how many kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO ) are produced when one kilogram of natural
gas (i.e., methane, CH ) is burnt completely to carbon dioxide and water.
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44/16= 2.75 kilograms