POWER

WHAT IS POWER?
Suppose you and another student are pushing boxes of
books up a ramp to load them into a truck. To make the
job more fun, you make a game of it, racing to see who
can push a box up the ramp faster.
The boxes weigh the same, but your friend is able to
push a box up the ramp in 30s. It takes you 45s.You
both do the same amount of work on the books because
the boxes weigh the same and are moved the same
distance. The only difference is the time it takes to do
the work.
In this game, your friend has more power than you do.
Power is the amount of work done in a
certain amount of time. It is a rate a rate
at which work is done.
WHAT IS POWER?
Calculating Power
To determine the power you deliver by pushing
a box up the ramp, you need a way to calculate
power. To calculate power, divide the work done
by the time that is required to do the work.
Power = work/time
P = w/t
P = Fd
t
P = Fv

Units of Power
Power is measured in watts, named for James Watt,
who helped develop the steam engine in the
eighteenth century.
1 W = 1 J/s
A watt is fairly small about equal to the power
needed to raise a glass of water from a table to your
mouth in 1 s. Because the watt is such a small unit,
large amounts of power is often expressed in
kilowatts
1 kW = 1000 W
746 W = 1hp


Will the amount of work change if the
person were to run up the stairs?
The same amount of work is accomplished. Running up the
stairs, however, is more tiring than walking up the stairs.
You use up your energy at a greater rate when running.
The 120-lb person who ran up the 10 ft height of stairs
in 4 sec would have a power rating of:
P = W = (120 lb)(10ft) = 300 ft.lb/sec
t 4 sec
If the person had a time of 3 sec on the same stairs, the
power rating would be greater, 400 ft.lb/sec. This is a
greater rate of energy use, or greater power.
HORSEPOWER
When the steam engine was first invented there was
a need to describe the rate at which the engine could
do work.
Since people at this time were familiar with using
horses to do their work, the steam engines were
compared to horses.
James Watt, who designed a workable steam
engine, defined horsepower as a power rating of
550 ft.lb/sec.
HORSEPOWER
To convert a power
rating in the English
units of ft.lb/sec to
horsepower, divide the
power rating by 550
ft.lb/sec.
For example, the 120-lb
person who had a power
rating of 400 ft.lb/sec
had a horsepower of 400
ft.lb/sec divided by 550
ft.lb/sec is 0.73.
Power and Energy
Doing work is a way of transferring energy
from one object to another. Remember that
energy can be transferred in other ways that
dont involve doing work.
For example, a lightbulb uses electrical energy
to produce heat and light, but no work is done.




Power is the energy transferred divided by the
time needed for the transfer to occur. Anytime
energy is transferred from one object to another,
power can be calculated from the following
equation:
Power = energy/time
P = E/t
Power and Energy
Power is the rate at which energy is
transferred, used, or transformed. For
example, the rate at which a light bulb
transforms electrical energy into heat and
light is measured in wattsthe more
wattage, the more power, or equivalently
the more electrical energy is used per unit
time.
Power and Energy
Sample Problem 1
It took five minutes to
move a refrigerator. You
did 3,150 joules of work
in the process. How
much power was
required to move the
refrigerator?
Given:
w = 3,150 J
t = 5 mins = 300 s
Solution:
P = w/t
P = 3,150 J = 10.5 J/s
300 s or 10.5 W
What power output in
watts and in horsepower
does a 48-kg person have
when he climbs a stairs
of 4-m high in just 3.5
seconds?
Given:
m = 48 kg
d = 4m
t = 3.5 s
P = ?
Solution:
P = w = Fd = mgd
t t t
P = (48kg)(9.8m/s
2
)(4m)
3.5 s
P = 537.6 W

537.6 W x_1hp_ = 0.72 hp
746 W
Sample Problem 2
A forklift raise a package to a
delivery trucks load platform
1.5 m above the ground. The
motor is capable of delivering
50W of power. Assuming no
energy is dissipated, what
minimum time is required for
the lift to raise a 20kg
package from the ground to
the platform?
Given:
d = 1.5 m
P = 50 W
m = 20 kg
t = ?
Solution:
P = Fd
t
t = Fd = mgd
P P
t = 20kg(9.8m/s
2
)(1.5m)
50 W
t = 5.9 s
Sample Problem 3
A 1.5 hp air-conditioning
unit is used for 10 h.
How much electrical
energy(work) did it
consume?
Given:
P = 1.5 hp = 1,119 W
t = 10 h
W = ?
Solution:
P = w/t
W = Pt
= (1,119W)(10h)
= 11,190 W.h
or 11.19 kW.h
Sample Problem 4
Who is more powerful, a
man who can lift 100 kg
to a height of 2 m in 4s or
a man who can lift 60 kg
to a height of 2 m in 2 s?
Solution:
P
1
= mgd
t
= 100kg(9.8m/s
2
)(2m)
4s
P
1
= 490 W

P
2
= mgd
t
= 60kg(9.8m/s
2
)(2m)
2s
P
2
= 588 W

P
2
is more powerful than P
1
.




Sample Problem 5
EXERCISE 1
How much power is
required to push a car
for 10 seconds if the
amount of work done
during that time is 5,500
joules.
Given:
w = 5,500 J
t = 10 s
Solution:
P = w/t
P = 5,500 J = 550 W
10 s

A lift has a power rating
of 480 W. How high
can it raise two 50-kg
sacks of rice in 2.0 s?
Given:
P = 480 W
m = 50 kg
t = 2.0 s
d = ?
Solution:
P = mgd
t
d = _Pt_ = (480 W)(2s)
mg 100kg(9.8m/s
2
)
d = 0.98 m
EXERCISE 2
A man lifted a load of 80
kg to a height of 1.5 m
in 3 seconds. What is
her power in watts?
Given:
d = 1.5 m
t = 3 s
m = 80 kg
P = ?
Solution:
P = w = mgd
t t
P = (80kg)(9.8m/s
2
)(1.5m)
3 s
P = 392 kg.m
2
/s
3

or 392 W
EXERCISE 3
A horse pulled a load with
a force of 200 N through
a distance of 100 m in
20 s. What is the power
of the horse?
Given:
F = 200 N
d = 100 m
t = 20 s
P = ?
Solution:
P = Fd = 200 N(100m)
t 20 s
P = 1000 W
EXERCISE 4
A cart containing 4 sacks of
rice, each with a mass of 50
kg, was pulled by a man
using a force of 500N
through a distance of 100 m.
a. How much work did the
man do?
b. If it took him 5 minutes to
move the distance, what is
his power?


Solution:
a. W = Fd = (500N)(100m)
W = 50,000 N.m
or 50,000 J

b. P = w = 50,000 J
t 300 s
P = 166.67 W
EXERCISE 5