assignments
There will be 19 pre-class assignments and 9 weekly assignments.
Pre-class Assignments
Remember the pre-class assignments are graded and no late work is accepted! The grade is based on the quality of your work. This means that you will also be graded on the care you used to complete your assignment and you might receive a good grade although your answer is only partially correct. Your answers might be used in class, but I will not say explicitly who the answer is from.
due Sun Jan 26
Pre-class-1
Reading: Chapter 1
Please, answer these questions before doing the reading:
- How would you define the concept of energy?
- Why are you interested in talking about energy?
Please, answer these questions after doing the reading:
- After the reading would you change or add something to your definition of energy? how/what?
- Select two of the concepts discussed in this chapter, the two that you consider to be the most significant. Briefly describe these two concepts using your own words and discuss why you selected them.
due Tue Jan 28
Pre-class-2
Reading: Chapter 2- Sections A,B,C,G
- Define position and displacement, and compare these two definitions. Give an example of displacement.
- You're driving along a highway at a steady speed of 60 mph when another driver decides to pass you. At the moment when the front of his car is exactly even with the front of your car, and you turn your head to smile at him, do the two cars have equal velocity?
- Is it possible to have an object in motion if no forces are applied to it while it is moving? Discuss why, give at least one example to support the answer.
- Discuss the difference between velocity and speed by using examples.
due Sun Feb 2
Pre-class-3
Reading: Chapter 2- Sections D,E,F,G
Using your own words answer these questions after the reading:
- Distinguish between the work done in completing a task and the power expended.
- What factors determine the amount of electrical power that can be produced by a stream or river?
due Wed Feb 5 1:00 pm
Pre-class-4
Reading: Chapter 3
please say what OEED stands for, and using your own words describe their mission/goals.
- After the reading discuss using your words the overall efficiency in the case of a multistep process of energy generation/distribution.
due Mon Feb 10 1:00 pm
Pre-class-5
Reading: Chapter 4 - A,B,C,D
After the reading answer using your own words to the following questions:
- Explain the first law of thermodynamic. Give two examples of this law: 1) no work is done on the system 2) no heat is added
- Is it possible to increase the temperature of gas in a cylinder without any energy transfer as heat? Explain your answer
- Illustrate all three methods of heat transfer by a wood burning stove
due Wed Feb 12 1:00 pm
Pre-class-6
Reading: Chapter 4 - E,F,G
- Why is a condenser is needed in a steam electric plant? Why isn't better just recycle the low-pressure steam rather than condense it, releasing heat to the environment?
- What is entropy?
- Can you coll a kitchen by leaving the refrigerator door open? explain
due Tue Feb 18 11:30 am
Pre-class-7
Reading Chapter 5
due Mon Feb 24 1:00 pm
Pre-class-8
- To keep an iced drink cold for the longest period of time, what cup would you use, and why?
- What factors affect infiltration into a house?
- What steps would you take if you had to cut back your use of residential energy by 25%?
due Wed Feb 26 1:00 pm
Pre-class-9
Reading Chapter 6
- During what season will more insolation be delivered to a vertical south-facing window on a clear day? Why?
- What are the advantage to using thermal mass on a direct-gain passive solar system?
- What are the three types of passive solar homes?
due Tue Mar 4
Pre-class-10
Reading: chapter 7 + article
The article to read is on the energy douse page on moodle.
Point (Fracking is to risky):
Theo
Forrest
Greg
Counterpoint (It's to valuable)
Emma
Christofer
Dylan
due Mon Mar 10 11:30 am
Pre-class-11
Reading: chapter 8, section A-B-C
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading. Something you did not understand or that you think is would be good to discuss in class because you want other people opinion.
due Wed Mar 12 11:30 am
Pre-class-12
Reading: chapter 8, section D-E-F-G
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Tue Apr 1 11:30 am
Pre-class-13
Everybody has to read Chapter 9 and do some research on the latest news from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (
http://unfccc.int/2860.php). As usual you should come to class with two questions linked to the chapter (but not from the section you are responsible for, see the following to know which section you are responsible for).
due Thu Apr 3 11:30 am
Pre-class-14
Reading: chapter 10
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Mon Apr 14 11:30 am
Pre-class-15
Reading: chapter 11
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Thu Apr 17 11:30 am
Pre-class-16
Reading: chapter 12
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Tue Apr 22 11:30 am
Pre-class-17
Reading: chapter 12
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Thu Apr 24 11:30 am
Pre-class-18
Reading: chapter 13
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
due Tue Apr 29 11:30 am
Pre-class-19
Reading: chapter 14
Each one of you should come to class with two questions about the reading.
Weekly Assignments
due Tue Feb 4
Assignment 1
Select a country (email your choice to the other students in the class so we are sure that there is no overlap), use online resources to find the most recent data on:
Sources of energy production and data on energy consumption - both broken down into components (cite the source of your data and record the year). The goal is to compare your data so we need to use consistent units throughout the class. The data should be reported in Btu and percentage, represent the data in a readable plot (A pie graph made with a spreadsheet software or with any other graphing tool, including colored pencils, will work).
Problems: Chapter 2: 16 - 17
due Tue Feb 11
Assignment 2
Chapter 3: Further Activities #3
Problems (please be very organized and describe your reasoning in detail while solving the problems):
1. An engine performs 4000 joules of work in 10 seconds. What is its power output in kilowatts and in horsepower?
2. A small stream flowing at a rate of 8 liters per second has a vertical drop of 1.5 m. What is the maximum power that you can obtain from this stream? (1 liter of water has a mass of 1 kg)
3. A cart of mass 20 kg, initially at rest, is pushed with a net force 40N on a flat surface. If the cart is pushed 5 m, what is its final KE? What is the final velocity?
4. A skateboard with a mass of 3 kg is moving at a speed of 5 m/s on a level surface. It encounters a hill and rolls up until it stops. To what vertical hight does it rise? (ignore friction)
5. if a coal-burning electrical generating plant burns 2 tons of coal to generate 6000 kWh of electricity, calculate the efficiency of the plant as the ratio of electricity to fuel energy input (use convention table in the book!)
6. An SUV gets 14 mpg, and a minivan gets 32 mpg. How much more chemical energy (in Btu and in kWh units) will be used by the SUV in a trip to a beach house of 200 miles?
due Thu Feb 20
Assignment 3
A) Report of the activity done on Tuesday. See email for a detailed description of the activity.
B) Chapter 3: Further Activities #3 (let's try again), report of the work done in class on Thursday the 13th, following the instruction given by email (repeated here for your convenience):
1 - Decide a criteria to select a developing country. i.e. you should do some research and discussion about what standards are generally used to define a developing country. Write a short report of this discussion on your assignment, each one of you should write your own report.
2 - Each one of you should select a developing country, compile the data listed on page 92 (new edition, I don't remember the page on the old edition but it is still listed as activity 3 in chapter 3)
3- After collecting the data discuss the points indicated in the book (where the book says: Describe this country's economic and food situation etc…). This needs to be a college level discussion, it should show critical thinking, not just a short sentence or numbers. You have to do some research to be able to make this discussion. I'm not asking for 10 pages but at least half a page!
4- Compare your findings, discuss similarities and differences between these countries, write your own conclusions about this discussion on the assignment.
If you weren't in class, work on the points from 1 to 3.
due Tue Feb 25
Assignment 4
Revisited lab report, after our class discussion.
due Sun Mar 30
Assignment 5
Each one of you is responsible for a specific section, and will have to do further research on that section. In class you will be responsible for the material covered in that section, you will bring further resources pictures or examples (you can use the web and the books in the library reserve). You will lead the class discussion regarding that section. Please, prepare questions and discussion topics to facilitate the process. I will bring a ppt with the images from the book in case you need them during the discussion.
This is an assignment and you will be graded on it. Please, let me know ahead of time if you cannot attend class that day. In that case your assignment will be to write a short essay on the topic you are responsible for.
(If there is a topic you are more interested than the one listed you can try to ask the student who has it to trade with you):
Forest - Global Warming and the Green House Effect: Observations
Greg - Global Warming and possible impacts
Christofer - Thermal pollution - Ecological effect of thermal pollution
Theo - Africa and Global Warming - Global Warming: possible actions - Chinese Consumers and global warming
Emma - Cooling Towers and ponds - Using Waste heat
due Thu Apr 3
Assignment 6
Chapter 8, Problems:
28- (2 old book)
31 (you can use the web for tables containing densities of various materials) A cylindrical piece of pure metal has dimensions of 8 cm long a diameter of 3 cm. It has a mass of 0.55 kg. What is the material made of?
36 -(7 old book)
In evaluating these problems I will take into account: a) units b) the detail you used to explain your reasoning. Just numbers and formulas will not be considered an acceptable solution.
due Wed Apr 9
Assignment 7
Use the data collected during the passive house competition to:
A) produce plots T vs time for both the stages of the competition.
B) Calculate \(Q_{in}\) and \(Q_{out}\) from the house as discussed in class.
Remember \(Q_{in}\) is due to the energy radiating from the Sun. You will need to take into account the energy per unit of area that we receive from the Sun, the area of your windows and their inclination, assume perfect transmission by the window (see Chapter 6). Assume that energy is lost only by conduction when calculating \(Q_{out}\) (Chapter 5).
C) Compare the value obtained for \(Q_{in}-Q_{out}\) with the actual heat exchanged using \(Q=M_{air}* C_{air} \Delta T_{inside the house}\). You will have to estimate \(M_{air}\) using the volume of your house and density. You can obtain values for density and specific heat from these online tables http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-properties-d_156.html}).
D) Explain calculations made, comment on the assumption made, your results, and the efficiency of your house,
Check the units you used twice, and convert units when needed!!!!!!!!!
due Wed Apr 16
Assignment 8
- 28) A 12-V battery is connected across a device whose resistance is 24 Ohms. Calculate the current in the wire. What is the power dissipated by this load?
- 36) Resistors of 10 and 30 Ohms are connected in series to a 120-V source. What is the current flowing int he 3 Ohm resistor? What is the current in this resistor when the same resistors are connected in parallel?
- 38) Most of the body's resistance is in the skin. When wet, salts go into ion form, and the resistance dis lowered. Compare the current that would pass through a person who comes into contact with a 240-V source when there is a) a dry skin resistance of 100,000 Ohms and b) a wet skin resistance of 300 Ohms.
In evaluating these problems I will take into account: a) units, Check the units you used twice, and convert units when needed!!!!!!!!! b) the detail you used to explain your reasoning. Just numbers and formulas will not be considered an acceptable solution.
due Thu Apr 24
Assignment 9
Last deadline to complete missing assignments.
By this day you should have emailed to the rest of the class the topic for your final talk.
The review talks are scheduled for the first and seventh of May (On Tuesday we will decide when each of you will be presenting). As a part of your assignment you have to schedule a meeting with me (it will be a short one) during the week preceding your talk to discuss the direction of your work, the topic you decided to study in greater depth and the references you are using. Be sure to schedule the meeting early enough to have the time to include feedback in your talk.
Mid-term & Final
due Fri Mar 14 11:30 am
Mid-Term
For the description see the email sent on 2/28
due Fri May 9
Final
Each one of you will have 20 minutes to present a topic. Your talk should focus for about 10 minutes on reviewing one of the topic discussed in class, and for the rest of the time you should present a related topic (e.g. economical, political or social aspect, technical aspects) that you decided to study in depth.
Your grade will be on clarity and structure of the presentation, and quality of the material presented.
Please, contact me if you gave any questions.
Thursday May 1st
Greg
Dyaln
Emma
Tuesday May 6th
Theo
Christofer
Forrest
Final Grade
