Please look over the Research Problems in your textbook on page 92. Try to use as many resources possible to explain these concepts in greater detail. ESSAY FORMAT PLEASE!!!!

Answer the following questions:

1) Find the average temperature for a particular winter month in the region where your home is located. From your family's heating bills, estimate as best you can the amount of oil or gas consumed to heat your house during this month. Estimate the surface area of your house and, on the assumption that all the energy content of your heating fuel escaped through the house walls and roof, estimate an average R value for the house.

2) Locate the nearest thermal power plant to your home or school and describe what type it is, what kind of fuel it uses, and any other details. From this information, determine (a) its electric power output and (b) its thermal power output, and then (c) calculate its actual efficiency. If you're in the United States, you may find useful the U.S. Department of Energy's spreadsheet "Existing Units by Energy Source", downloadable at eia.gov/electricity/capacity.

3) Locate a microwave oven and find its rated microwave power and its actual electric power consumption. From these values, determine its efficiency at converting electric energy into microwaves. Then time how long it takes to heat a known amount of water from a known initial temperature to the boiling point. Assuming that all the microwave energy ends up in the water, use the result of your experiment to calculate a value for the microwave power. How does it comparewith the oven's rated power?

4) Find specifications on your car or your family's: its mass, its engine power rating in horsepower, and its acceleration (0 to some speed in how many seconds?). Compare the horsepower rating with the actual average power needed to give the car its kinetic energy at that final speed.

5) The U.S. Department of Energy offers an online calculator to determine if a given building design meets energy efficiency standards. You can find the online calculator, called REScheck-Web, at energycode.pnl.gov/REScheckWeb. Design a simple house, including windows and doors, use REScheck-Web to see if your design meets energy efficiency standards for a location of your choice.

Book/References: Energy, Environment and Climate

Third Edition

by Richard Wolfson

CHAPTER 4

PLEASE INCLUDE A Introduction, General Discussion, Significant impact of physics in our society , Conclusion, References