Work, Energy and Power

This week's assignment will allow you to learn some basic physics concepts that are integral to any study of energy resources and generation.

Text Reading Assignment

Read Chapters 3 in Energy by Aubrecht.

Additional Study Materials

Complete this module on work, energy and power.

Problem Solving

Solve problems 38, 39, 40 & 41 in Chapter 3 of Aubrecht along with the following supplementary problem for next week.

Supplementary Problem

Consider a country with a population of 20 million people. Suppose 200,000 MJ/person each year is needed to support a satisfactory UN Human Development Index.

  1. How much energy (in MJ) is needed for each year by the country?
  2. How much power (in MW) is required?
  3. How many 1000 MW power plants are needed?
  4. How much energy (in MJ) is needed each day?
  5. Suppose the energy is obtained by consuming crude oil with an energy density of 37,000 MJ/m3. How many barrels of crude oil are required each day?
  6. If the price of oil is US$50/bbl, what is the cost of oil per kWh of energy used each day? Hint: Calculate the energy used each day in kWh/day and the cost of oil per day in US$/day before calculating the cost of oil per kWh