Carolyn Stoughton

EGEE 101H, Homework #1 – Unit Conversions

Each question is worth 1 pt, one decimal point

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)

Force= 75 kilograms × 9.8 m/sec2= 735 N

Distance=29,028 ft × (1 m/3.28 ft)=8,850 m

Work= 735 N × 8850 m=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. Think about power versus energy.

6,504,750 J x (1 C/4184 J)=1554.7 C

1554.7 C x (1 slice of pizza/290 C)=5.4 slices of pizza

It is not really the right answer because we’re not taking into account the amount of time it will take the
woman to climb Mount Everest. Because of this, we should think of power instead of energy; you won’t
know how much energy she needs until you figure out how long it will take her to climb Mount Everest.
Five slices of pizza is not going to fill a person who climbs Mount Everest, especially when it takes
months to climb.

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 𝑙𝑏
3.5 × 108 Btu ( ) = 2.7 × 104 lb.
1.3 × 104 𝐵𝑡𝑢

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 8 cents, how much does it cost to watch TV for 3 hours? (1 kilowatt = 1000
watts).

1000 W-hour is 8 cents

300 W x (8 cents/1000 W-hours)=2.4 cents/hour

2.4 cents/hour (3 hours)=7.2 cents
Carolyn Stoughton

5. 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).

1 watt=1 J/sec

2000 C x (4184 J/1 C)=8,368,000 J

24 hours=86,400 seconds

Power=8,368,000 J/86,400 sec=96.9 W