Question

Gasoline containing a total of 44,000 kJ of energy was burned in a car
engine. The table below shows some information related to the energy
output of the car from burning the gasoline. How much potential energy
from the gasoline was converted to mechanical energy? Energy Output
in (kJ) Thermal = 36,080 Electrical = 1,760 Mechanical = ?? *
6,160 kJ
14,960 kJ
0
20,240 kJ
44,000 kJ

Answer 1

Answer:

6,160 kJ

Explanation:

We can solve this problem by using the law of conservation of energy.

In fact, the sum of the different types of energy in output must be equal to the total energy in input. So we can write:

$E_c = E_t + E_e + E_m$

where:

$E_c$ is the chemical energy contained in the gasoline (the energy in input)

$E_t$ is the thermal energy in output

$E_e$ is the electrical energy in output

$E_m$ is the mechanical energy in output

In this problem:

$E_c=44,000 kJ$

$E_t = 36,080 kJ$

$E_e=1,760 kJ$

So the mechanical energy is:

$E_m=E_c - E_e-E_t=44,000-36,080-1,760=6,160 kJ$