Work_and_Power_Lab__AP_
Work_and_Power_Lab__AP_
Laboratory
How can we better understand the role of forces in doing work?
How can we better understand the physical and mathematical relationship between work and
power?
How is power calculated?
How do we convert between SI and English units of power measurement?
Introduction
Power. We are often interested not only in how much work is done but
also in how fast it is done. The rate at which work is done is called power. We
determine the average power of a machine or device (or person) by dividing
the work it does by the time it takes to complete it. The SI unit in which
power is measured is the joule/second (J/s) or the watt (W). The power
supplied by an engine, motor, etc., that does work at the rate of 1 joule per
second is 1 watt. A watt is therefore the rate at which a force of 1 newton
does work when it moves a body at the rate of 1 meter per second in the
direction of the applied force. Since the watt is a relatively small unit of
power, it is more often convenient to measure power in kilowatts (10exp3
watts). A kilowatt of power is equivalent to 1000 watts. A nonmetric unit of
power commonly used in commerce and industry in the US is horsepower
(hp). One horsepower is equivalent to 746 watts.
People (and Horse) Power! A simple way to measure the power output
of a person is to measure the time it takes the person to run up a flight of
stairs of known height. In this experiment you will compare your power
output with that of your classmates (and, perhaps, of your somewhat out-of-
shape but eminently good-natured instructor). You will then convert these
units into horsepower units. When MKS power unit namesake James Watt
invented his steam engine many years ago, he was asked how many horses
his engine could replace. To find out, Watt constructed a rope-and-pulley
device with which he could measure the time it took for a horse to lift various
weights. Watt derived horsepower as the power a horse can produce steadily
for a sustained period of time. How many horses would be necessary to
replace Mr. K? (Don't answer that!)
Objectives
Equipment
Bathroom scale
Meter stick (or metric measuring tape)
Stopwatch
Procedure
Calculations
1. Use the following equation to compute the power output (in watts) of
each group member listed in the data table:
P = (F x d)/t
Questions