Chemical and Mechanical Engineering 2300 / Thermodynamics I

Homework Assignment 1 (Lectures 1 - 3)

Prof. Geof Silcox
Chemical Engineering
University of Utah
Due Monday, 2014 September 8, by 17:00
To ensure that you receive full credit for your solutions, write out all equations in
symbolic form, give numerical values for all variables and constants in the equations, and
write answers to definitions or conceptual problems in complete sentences. Approximate
answers are rounded to one significant figure. Your answers need to be reported with
three.
Problem 1
The energy content of 1-liter of whole milk is 680 Cal. Using that data, determine how
high can you climb (in meters) on a liter of whole milk. Assume that your mass is 65 kg
and that your body can convert 20 percent of the energy in the milk to mechanical work.
Approximate answer: 900 m.
Problem 2
Suppose that you put some dry ice (solid CO
2
) into an empty, 2-liter plastic pop bottle,
and screw on the lid. When the dry ice sublimes (vaporizes) and the gases warm to room
temperature, the bottle will explode if you have added enough dry ice. Calculate the
minimum number of grams of dry ice required to cause an explosion given that the bottle
will rupture when its internal pressure reaches 11 bar (gage). Approximate answer: 40 g.
Problem 3
The barometer of a mountain hiker reads 930 mbars at the beginning of a hiking trip and
780 mbars at the end. Neglecting the effect of altitude on the local gravitational
acceleration, determine the vertical distance climbed. Assume an average air density of
1.20 kg/m
3
. Approximate answer: 1000 m.
Problem 4
When buildings have large exhaust fans, exterior doors can be difficult to open due to a
pressure difference between the inside and outside. Do you think you could open a 3- by
7-ft door if the inside pressure were 1 in. of water (vacuum)?
Problem 5
A twin-bladed wind turbine has rotors with diameter 91 m. The reported average power
output of the turbine is 2.5 MW. How does this compare with the best possible at your
location? The theoretical maximum utilization of the kinetic energy in the wind that
approaches such turbines is 16/27 (called the Betz limit). Assume that for your location
the average air temperature is 10 C and the average wind velocity, V, is 24 km/hr.
The rate of flow of kinetic energy (W) is

2
1
2
KE mV

The mass flow rate of air is
m AV

where the area is A =D
2
/4 (D is the diameter of the rotors) and is the density of air.
Approximate answer: The maximum output is less than 1 MW. Before purchasing
anything it is always a good idea to check the upper limit on performance.
Problem 6
(a) Calculate the specific internal energy (kJ /kg) of helium (He) at 300 K using the
formula given in Lesson 3 of the notes,

3
2
u RT
and compare your values to those obtained from

v
u c T
where c
v
is the specific heat (kJ /kgK) from Table A-2a, and T is the temperature in
degrees kelvin. Explain any differences that you see.